If I were Iran agent...: US gala shooter's chilling manifesto before opening fire

Minutes before the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, Cole Tomas Allen allegedly sent his family a manifesto outlining targets and methods. The document, now part of the investigation, also claimed security at the venue was easy to bypass.

In Short

• Document described lax hotel checks, alleged weapons passed unchecked
• Shooter allegedly listed administration officials as targets, sparing FBI chief
• Note said buckshot was chosen to reduce wall penetration and casualties

The man accused of opening fire at a high-profile White House Correspondents' Dinner had, just minutes before opening fire, sent a disturbing manifesto to his family in which he called himself an assassin and even invoked a hypothetical Iranian operative slipping through security undetected.

Cole Tomas Allen (31), who allegedly launched the attack at the White House gala event, described himself in the document as the "Friendly Federal Assassin" and used the example of an Iranian agent to argue that the event's security was dangerously lax and easily bypassed, according to a New York Post report.

"If I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here and no one would have noticed shit," he wrote, referring to the M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun.

Allen's manifesto also laid out his intent to target Trump administration officials and included repeated references to political violence. A US official told The New York Post that the document named officials as targets "from highest-ranking to lowest", while excluding FBI Director Kash Patel.

"I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes," he wrote, in an apparent reference to President Trump.

Furthermore, he also detailed his approach to the attack, saying he intended to use buckshot instead of slugs to limit wall penetration, but added that he would still proceed through others in the room if necessary.

"In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls). I would still go through almost everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit), but I really hope it doesn't come to that," he wrote.

Allen also criticised security at the Washington Hilton, claiming he entered the venue carrying weapons without being stopped and suggesting that officials had focused only on external threats.

"The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals. No one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before," he wrote.

SUSPECT WROTE ANTI-CHRISTIAN MANIFESTO, TRUMP SAYS

The suspect’s manifesto also reflected strong ideological views, including criticism of religion. Speaking on Fox News’ "Sunday Briefing," US President Donald Trump said, "When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians."

According to an official cited by Reuters, the manifesto included pointed criticism framed in moral terms. "Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes," the document read, as per the official.

The manifesto also returned to the issue of security at the venue, mocking the failure to anticipate internal threats. "Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance," the author reportedly wrote. "I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat."

Officials said the suspect was stopped well before reaching the ballroom where the dinner was being held, preventing further escalation.

Authorities said Allen's brother alerted police in New London, Connecticut, after seeing the manifesto. A US official said the document was forwarded to law enforcement shortly before the attack unfolded.

Officials also confirmed Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms, which were stored at his parents' home, and that he regularly trained at a shooting range.

The Secret Service, according to officials, had spoken to Allen's sister, who said he frequently made politically extreme statements and spoke about wanting to "do something" to address global issues.

The document, signed 'Cole coldForce, Friendly Federal Assassin Allen', also referenced his association with a group called "The Wide Awakes" and attendance at a "No Kings" protest in California during his time as a student and teacher.

- Ends