Agents stand guard after the shooting at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday.
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Hours after a gunman attempted to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, details are slowly emerging about who he is.
The alleged gunman has been identified as Cole Allen, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. He is believed to have been targeting administration officials, as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning.
The incident brought America’s commonplace gun violence just feet away from a room full of lawmakers, top officials, and journalists. It also may add to a string of troubling political violence in the U.S. that includes two assassination attempts on President Trump. It also injects more chaos into what was already a turbulent time for the Trump administration, which is attempting to negotiate an end to the war in Iran that the U.S. started at the end of February.
What happened
Just minutes into the dinner, attendees in the ballroom heard muffled popping noises and saw the president, first lady, and top officials hurried away from the head table, where journalists representing the White House Correspondents Association were also seated. Other attendees throughout the room, including lawmakers, Cabinet officials, and hundreds of journalists, fell to the floor as they awaited an all-clear from law enforcement.
Law enforcement later revealed that the alleged gunman was apprehended right outside the ballroom, after he attempted to charge past a security checkpoint.
Amid the confusion after the incident, White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jang announced to the room that the program would continue, and Trump signaled on social media that he wanted the dinner to continue. Only later, on the advice of law enforcement, did Trump say he wanted the dinner to be postponed, and Jiang confirmed that it would be.
Trump held a press conference at the White House late last night, where he said one law enforcement officer was shot but was “doing great” thanks to the officer’s bullet-proof vest. He also said the assailant was from California. At a later press conference, law enforcement said the assailant had in his possession a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
Trump quickly forms a narrative
Within minutes of the incident, the president was on social media, posting his reactions, including praise for law enforcement and the Secret Service.
Later Saturday night, he posted and, eventually, even what were apparently photos of the suspect – shirtless, prone on the floor, with his hands apparently bound. Trump also posted what appeared to be security footage from inside the hotel of the alleged gunman sprinting past law enforcement officers.
At his press conference last night, Trump said he released the images and video “for purposes of transparency, clarity.”
While the gunman’s motivations remain unclear, the president said he believes attempted political violence against him would be because he is a consequential president.
“When you look at the people that have either – whether it was an attempt or a successful attempt, they’re very impactful people. Just take a look at the names,” he said, speaking of presidential assassination attempts. “They’re the big names, and I hate to say I’m honored by that, but I’ve done a lot. We’ve done a lot.”
Trump also quickly turned this incident into an argument for the massive ballroom he is building on the grounds, saying it will have tight security for large events. He posted emphasizing this point on Sunday morning.
“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he wrote as part of his post. “It cannot be built fast enough!”
The correspondents’ dinner, however, is hosted by the Correspondents’ Association and not the White House.
Sunday morning, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media that the dinner was “hijacked by a depraved crazy person who sought to assassinate the President and kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible.”
This language stands in contrast to Blanche’s more careful assessment to Meet the Press: “I want to be careful not to say something that ends up not being true,” he said. “But it does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president, but I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that.”
What comes next
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Saturday night that the suspect was being charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and with assault of a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. She added that additional charges were expected, and that Allen would be arraigned on Monday in federal court. Blance told Meet the Press that Allen is not cooperating with investigators.
Blanche also said Sunday morning that investigators have been looking at Allen’s electronic devices and talking to people who know him.
The incident came as Trump is dealing with the war in Iran. Just hours before the dinner, he announced that he was cancelling a trip of American officials to Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks aimed at ending the war.
In a social media post, Trump wrote of Iran: “We have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
The high-profile incident of potential political violence adds yet another layer of chaos to an already tumultuous time both in Washington and on the world stage.
