Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged gunman who rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, sent an anti-Trump manifesto to family members roughly 10 minutes before the incident, declaring himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin” and stating his intent to target Trump administration officials, according to law enforcement sources.
In the document, obtained by family and turned over to authorities, Allen justified the attack by accusing the administration of oppression and complicity in crimes, writing that “turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.” He listed “Administration officials (not including FBI Director Kash Patel)” as prioritized targets and referred to the president as “a pedophile, rapist, and traitor.”
Allen also criticized the lack of security at the Washington Hilton. “I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat,” he wrote.
Late Saturday night, President Donald Trump delivered remarks from the White House Briefing Room following the assassination attempt. The president described the scene as “unexpected” but highlighted the unity it produced among attendees and the professionalism of the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
“This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press. And in a certain way it did because the fact that they just unified. I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see,” he said.
Trump went on to insist the event would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“We’re going to do it again,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society. We’re not going to cancel things out, because we can’t do that.”
Trump added that he had ordered the release of security footage “for purposes of transparency, clarity,” which he said shows both the attacker’s actions and “how quickly Secret Service and law enforcement acted on our country’s behalf.” He posted the video on Truth Social and other platforms shortly after the incident.
Law enforcement officials identified Allen as the 31-year-old from Torrance, California, who carried out the attack. He is a Caltech graduate (class of 2017) who earned a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025. Public records and his professional profiles show he worked as a part-time teacher — recently named “teacher of the month” at a Southern California tutoring center — and as an independent video game developer who released a title called Bohrdom on Steam. Authorities say he had no prior criminal record and was not previously known to law enforcement. He had booked a room at the Washington Hilton weeks earlier and traveled to Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to the event.
The image (pictured above), which matches Allen’s social-media profiles, was released alongside security footage to demonstrate the speed of the Secret Service response. The FBI and local authorities have since converged on Allen’s residence in Torrance, where they are executing search warrants as the investigation into his motives continues. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described him as a “lone wolf” actor who appears to have acted alone.
"A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service." – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/N3UTveVNFM
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2026
At the press conference, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed it was a single gunman who attempted to breach security at the venue. No other injuries to attendees or officials were reported, and the president and his party were safely removed from the stage. Trump described the Washington Hilton itself as “not particularly secure,” reiterating long-standing calls from the Secret Service and military for enhanced White House facilities, including a new ballroom with advanced protections.
One Secret Service officer was shot at close range with a powerful weapon but was saved by his bulletproof vest and is “doing great” with “very high spirits,” Trump said after speaking directly with the injured agent. The president, First Lady, and Vice President JD Vance were quickly evacuated.
The attack marks the third time Trump has faced a would-be assassin with the motive, means, and capability to seriously harm or kill him.
On July 13, 2024, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired multiple shots from a rooftop approximately 400 feet from the stage. Trump was shot in the right ear by a bullet, one spectator was killed, and two others were critically injured before Secret Service counter-snipers neutralized Crooks.
Two months later, on September 15, 2024, at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after being spotted with a rifle near the course perimeter while Trump was golfing. A year later in September, 2025, Routh was found guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, firearm possession in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
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Christina Botteri is the Executive Editor of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow her on X at @christinakb.
Photo “Cole Allen” by Donald Trump.
