Shooter at White House correspondents’ dinner charged with Trump assassination attempt

On Saturday night, Donald and Melania Trump were evacuated by Secret Service members at the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC after an intruder rushed into the lobby and fired gunshots. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a traditional celebration held each year in Washington. Its official purpose is to celebrate journalism fundraising and the First Amendment. Attended by around 2600 people, major news outlets sent representatives to a room including several Trump administration members, student scholars, and other prominent figures. Though President Trump had not attended the event during his first term, he was expected to give his first speech this year. 

Another lone gunman shot and wounded Ronald Reagan at the same location in 1981. In his US politics sketch for The Guardian, David Smith wrote “the Hilton was fortified” in light of this. The suspect waited until President Trump was on stage. Armed with a handgun, a shotgun, and multiple knives, he charged past a security checkpoint; officers exchanged gunfire with him and threw him to the ground, according to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. One of those stopping him, a US Secret Service agent, was hospitalised after being shot in the chest while wearing body armour. He has since been released. 

The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, attended court on Monday. He was charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States and did not enter a plea during his initial appearance. President Trump labelled Allen a “lone wolf whack job.” A 31-year-old teacher from California, his unverified manifesto was sent by Allen’s family. BBC News reports it supposedly states that he wanted to target Trump administration officials “from highest-ranking to lowest”. Meanwhile, guests and hotel employees would be attacked if it meant reaching his targets, though he wrote, “I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”

A LinkedIn profile apparently belonging to him states Cole graduated with a Master’s degree from California State University in computer science. Federal campaign records show a man named Cole Tomas Allen donated twenty-five dollars to ActBlue, a Democratic Party political action committee (PAC), but he is registered to vote with no party preference. Allen is also identified as an indie game developer. His videogame Bohrdom can be viewed on the platform Steam. Gameplay involves non-violent fighting based on chemistry models and is advertised to players with an interest in chemistry and physics. Officials have found no criminal record connected to Allen’s name. 

At a later news conference, President Trump praised his Secret Service team. He claimed he “fought like hell to stay” after the shooting. According to Trump, protocol required him to leave but he plans to resume the dinner at an unspecified date. Trump also used this moment to justify his plan to install a ballroom into the White House, saying “we need the ballroom. The Secret Service are demanding it.” This reignites a controversy sparked earlier in the year, when the Trump administration proposed a $400 million ballroom to renovate the White House. A federal judge halted the development, but only after a surprise demolition of the historic East Wing of the White House. The Trump administration has appealed this ruling and still intends to change the historic structure if given approval.