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The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner sent writings to family members minutes before the shooting referring to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin,” railing against Trump administration policies and signaling what investigators increasingly believe was a politically driven attack, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.Cole Tomas Allen is the man accused of charging a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday night, Hearst Television’s National Investigative Unit has learned via sources. Allen is facing firearms and assault charges.What we’ve learned so far about Allen31-year-old Allen is from Torrance, California. The National Investigative Unit has confirmed that Allen was working as a tutor in Torrance. Social media posts from C2 Education in Torrance show Allen was named the Teacher of the Month in December 2024.He had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.The accused gunman’s family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington’s glitziest annual events the night before.White House officials told our Washington Bureau and Investigative Unit that Allen’s brother had notified the New London Police Department in Connecticut of Allen’s alleged manifesto, which he had sent to his family members minutes prior to the incident.The suspect’s written manifesto stated he wanted to target administration officials. He also had a ton of anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on his social media accounts.Secret Service and Montgomery County Police interviewed Allen’s sister at their residence in Rockville, Maryland. She said that her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and his rhetoric constantly referenced a plan to do “something” to fix the issues with today’s world.She also confirmed Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms and kept them stored at their parent’s home, and that their parents were unaware that Allen was keeping the firearms in the home. He would regularly go to the shooting range to train with his firearms.His sister also confirmed that Allen was part of a group called The Wide Awakes. The writings, sent shortly before shots were fired at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to President Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions and recent events, including U.S. strikes on drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, the official said.Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence yet of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.He is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.Blanche said officials believe that the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington’s glitziest events was being held Saturday night. Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman’s electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”Video below: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks on CNN’s State of the UnionThe suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative.Federal Election records show Allen made a $25 donation on October 13, 2024, earmarked for the Kamala Harris campaign. Allen’s voting record in California did not show a party affiliation.A May 2025 profile photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker posted by President Donald Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2017 from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.Bin Tang, a computer science professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills, told The Associated Press that Allen took a few of his classes before graduating.“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news,” Tang wrote in an email.A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his senior year of college as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs. What we know about what happened at the dinnerSecurity footage posted by Trump shows a man, alleged to be Allen, sprinting through the metal detectors and past law enforcement, who turn toward him with guns raised. Officers then swarm toward the man off-screen. Interim Washington, D.C., police chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. He said investigators had no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved. Carroll said investigators believe that the suspect was staying in the hotel and that appears to be how he was able to enter the hotel at the time of the event. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the suspect is being charged preliminarily with two charges related to using a firearm and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but that there will be many more charges filed “based on the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation.”ABOVE VIDEO: Surveillance video shows shooting at White House correspondents’ dinnerPresident Donald Trump addressed reporters at the White House after he and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after a shooting incident outside the ballroom.The shooting suspect — described by Trump as a “sick person” — was identified as Allen.Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons, later identified as a handgun, long gun and multiple knives, before being stopped by Secret Service. One officer was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest.“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said.The officer was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK. The suspect was also taken to the hospital for evaluation.At least six shots were fired in the lobby that leads to the dining room where the event was being held.”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. A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons. And he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service and they acted quickly,” Trump said.The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables. “Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.A first-person account claims to have been inside a bathroom right near where the shooting happened and heard several shots fired.Once evacuated from the bathroom, the witness said, they saw broken glass near the stairs, and a person lying on the floor, with lots of Secret Service around them.White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang said everyone is safe after the shooting incident. The event will be rescheduled.All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration.House Speaker Mike Johnson said he and his wife, Kelly, who both attended the event, were “praying for our country tonight.” The House Democratic leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said, “The violence and chaos in America must end.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner sent writings to family members minutes before the shooting referring to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin,” railing against Trump administration policies and signaling what investigators increasingly believe was a politically driven attack, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
Cole Tomas Allen is the man accused of charging a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday night, Hearst Television’s National Investigative Unit has learned via sources.
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Allen is facing firearms and assault charges.
What we’ve learned so far about Allen
31-year-old Allen is from Torrance, California. The National Investigative Unit has confirmed that Allen was working as a tutor in Torrance. Social media posts from C2 Education in Torrance show Allen was named the Teacher of the Month in December 2024.
He had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.
The accused gunman’s family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington’s glitziest annual events the night before.
White House officials told our Washington Bureau and Investigative Unit that Allen’s brother had notified the New London Police Department in Connecticut of Allen’s alleged manifesto, which he had sent to his family members minutes prior to the incident.
The suspect’s written manifesto stated he wanted to target administration officials. He also had a ton of anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on his social media accounts.
Secret Service and Montgomery County Police interviewed Allen’s sister at their residence in Rockville, Maryland. She said that her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and his rhetoric constantly referenced a plan to do “something” to fix the issues with today’s world.
She also confirmed Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms and kept them stored at their parent’s home, and that their parents were unaware that Allen was keeping the firearms in the home. He would regularly go to the shooting range to train with his firearms.
His sister also confirmed that Allen was part of a group called The Wide Awakes.
The writings, sent shortly before shots were fired at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to President Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions and recent events, including U.S. strikes on drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, the official said.
Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence yet of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.
He is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
Blanche said officials believe that the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington’s glitziest events was being held Saturday night.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman’s electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Video below: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks on CNN’s State of the Union
The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative.
Federal Election records show Allen made a $25 donation on October 13, 2024, earmarked for the Kamala Harris campaign. Allen’s voting record in California did not show a party affiliation.
A May 2025 profile photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker posted by President Donald Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2017 from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
Bin Tang, a computer science professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills, told The Associated Press that Allen took a few of his classes before graduating.
“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news,” Tang wrote in an email.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his senior year of college as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
What we know about what happened at the dinner
- Security footage posted by Trump shows a man, alleged to be Allen, sprinting through the metal detectors and past law enforcement, who turn toward him with guns raised. Officers then swarm toward the man off-screen.
- Interim Washington, D.C., police chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. He said investigators had no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved.
- Carroll said investigators believe that the suspect was staying in the hotel and that appears to be how he was able to enter the hotel at the time of the event.
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the suspect is being charged preliminarily with two charges related to using a firearm and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but that there will be many more charges filed “based on the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation.”
ABOVE VIDEO: Surveillance video shows shooting at White House correspondents’ dinner
President Donald Trump addressed reporters at the White House after he and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after a shooting incident outside the ballroom.
The shooting suspect — described by Trump as a “sick person” — was identified as Allen.
Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons, later identified as a handgun, long gun and multiple knives, before being stopped by Secret Service. One officer was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest.
“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said.
The officer was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK. The suspect was also taken to the hospital for evaluation.
At least six shots were fired in the lobby that leads to the dining room where the event was being held.
“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. A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons. And he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service and they acted quickly,” Trump said.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables. “Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.
A first-person account claims to have been inside a bathroom right near where the shooting happened and heard several shots fired.
Once evacuated from the bathroom, the witness said, they saw broken glass near the stairs, and a person lying on the floor, with lots of Secret Service around them.
White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang said everyone is safe after the shooting incident. The event will be rescheduled.
All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he and his wife, Kelly, who both attended the event, were “praying for our country tonight.” The House Democratic leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said, “The violence and chaos in America must end.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
