Washington shooting suspect called himself ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’

LAST UPDATE | 16 hrs ago

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” and railing against Trump administration policies, officials said.

The messages, sent shortly before shots were fired at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to US President Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions and recent events, including US strikes on drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific.

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.

Authorities also uncovered what the official described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint at the dinner while armed with multiple weapons.

Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the writings, according to the official. A police spokesperson said they contacted federal law enforcement after receiving that information.

Federal agents have also interviewed Allen’s sister in Maryland, who told investigators her brother had legally purchased several weapons from a California gun store and stored them at their parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge.

She described her brother as prone to making radical statements, the official said.

Allen legally bought a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun two years later.

Authorities are still trying to determine how specific Allen’s alleged targets were. Officials have said investigators are examining whether his grievances centred on Trump and Vice President JD Vance personally or reflected a broader hostility toward the administration.

He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.

“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.

The suspect is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.

Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.

Authorities believe the suspect fired the shot that hit the Secret Service officer, who is expected to make a full recovery, Blanche said.

“He’s going to be great, he’s going to be fine, and thank God he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Blanche said.

Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.

A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted on Saturday night by Trump.

The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering 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.

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The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got under way.

The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.

Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.

“It’s always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organised news conference at the White House late on Saturday.

The detained man is believed to be the only suspect in the case, officials said.

He is being charged with two counts currently: using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said.

Other charges could still be brought as the investigation proceeds.

The gunman charged towards the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired.

Blanche said that the incident involved “the very worst and the very best” of the country.

“You saw the very worst by the actions of that coward,” Blanche added, “but you also saw the very best because you saw law enforcement do exactly what they’re supposed to do.

“I promise you justice will be served.”

“My impression is he was a lone wolf,” Trump said, adding that the suspect’s motivation was not yet clear but he believed the gunman was “sick.”

Questions raised over security

Trump, who has already been the target of two assassination attempts, credited the security services for doing a “much better job than Butler,” where he was the target of an assassination attempt in 2024 during a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania.

But questions have arisen since the attack regarding the security at the reception and how a gun was brought into the hotel.

Attendees pointed out that there was a magnetometer placed outside the ballroom, but there was no such screening before that or at the entrance to the hotel itself.

Trump initially said it was “not a particularly secure building,” but later said the ballroom where the event was being held was not breached by the gunman and was “very, very secure.”

The checkpoint that the suspect tried to charge past was “right outside the ballroom,” authorities said.

“Because that checkpoint worked, there was no one who was injured,” Pirro said.

“We’ll go through video across the hotel to figure out how the gun got in, how it got down here,” Carroll added.

Additional reporting by AP

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