Cole Allen, WHCD gunman wanted to fix everything wrong with the world according to recovered handwritten notes at the hotel, along with sending family members Anti-Trump manifesto, titled, ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ 10 minutes before shooting. Gunman regularly went to the shooting range to train with his guns and was part of a group called ‘The Wide Awakes’.
A 31-year-old Torrance, California man who opened fire during Saturday night’ White House Correspondents’ Dinner had done so according to family members cause he wanted to change the world and ‘fix what was wrong with it.’
Prior to charging at the ballroom at the Washington Hilton during the 2500 person event where politicians and journalists had gathered, Cole Tomas Allen had allegedly sent family members an Anti-Trump manifesto, titled, ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’.
WHCD gunman mocked lack of security as he outlined ‘rules for attack’ in manifesto
🚨 GUNFIRE ERUPTS AT REAGAN’S HILTON: Secret Service Neutralizes Shooter at 2026 WHCD as Trump Returns to Podium – Bullets Fail Where Words Endure!
History doesn’t repeat. It reloads—at the very Washington Hilton where John Hinckley tried to assassinate President Reagan in 1981.… pic.twitter.com/uLZYo2EDIe
— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) April 26, 2026
Cole Allen posted barrage of anti-Trump posts on BlueSky account, ‘Coldforce’
Sample statements Cole is alleged to have shared included, ‘Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person r*ped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial,’ Allen, 31, allegedly wrote in the document, which a relative provided to police, a US official said according to the nypost.
‘I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.’
Officials also said Allen’s social media included anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric.
Another family member who was interviewed by investigators after the attack said Allen made radical statements and that he constantly referenced a plan to do ‘something’ to fix the issues with today’s world.
Family members told investigators Allen would regularly go to the shooting range to train with his guns. Documents showed Cole Allen owning two guns.
Records show that Allen purchased a Maverick 12 gauge shotgun in August 2025. And records show he purchased an Armscor Precision .38 semi-automatic pistol in October 2023.
A senior law enforcement official tells NBC News those were the two weapons they recovered from Allen Saturday night.
Allen’s family members also said he was part of a group called ‘The Wide Awakes’ and attended a ‘No Kings’ protest in California.
According to federal campaign finance records, Allen donated $25 to Democratic Party PAC ActBlue for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in 2024.
Handwritten notes intentionally left at Washington hotel by WHCD shooter
As part of the probe into his motives, investigators are reviewing writing by Allen that was found in the hotel. Investigators are reviewing the suspect’s writings as part of the ongoing investigation into his motive for the attack, three federal law enforcement officials told CBS News. The materials were written on paper and were found in the hotel, the officials said.
The handwritten notes are believed to have been left with the intent that officials would find them, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Allen, who traveled across the country by train and was a guest at the hotel, was armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives when he tried to storm the event Saturday night before being tackled by the Secret Service. One Secret Service agent was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman’s electronic devices and his writings believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner according to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
‘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.’
