Donald Trump at White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Cole Allen manifesto reveals plan before shooting
Just minutes before opening fire, the alleged shooter sent a manifesto exposing a disturbing mindset and a willingness to act.
A man accused of opening fire outside a high-profile White House dinner allegedly laid out his intentions in chilling detail just minutes before the attack, including how he planned to carry it out.
As US President Donald Trump and hundreds of guests attended the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen had already positioned himself inside the Washington Hilton, armed and undetected.
Authorities allege Allen sent a manifesto to family members about 10 minutes before the shooting, outlining both his targets and his reasoning.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.In the document, Allen identified members of the Trump administration as his intended targets, ranking them by seniority.
“Administration officials (not including FBI Director Kash Patel): they are targets, prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest,” he wrote.
He also suggested a willingness to accept broader casualties if necessary, adding: “In order to minimise casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls). I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary … but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”
The writings also offered insight into how Allen justified the attack, framing it as a response to perceived injustice.
“Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial,” he wrote.
“Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behaviour; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.”
He added, “I am no longer willing to permit a paedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
Perhaps most striking were his claims about how easily he was able to enter the hotel armed.
“Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance. I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat,” he wrote.
He criticised what he described as gaps in security, adding: “The security at the event is all outside … because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before.”
Allen claimed the oversight was so significant that a more dangerous attacker could have done far worse.
“Like, if I were 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. Actually insane.”
The alarm was first raised by Allen’s brother, who contacted the police after receiving the document. Authorities later interviewed other family members, who said he had previously made radical political remarks and spoken about wanting to take action.
Allen was stopped at a security checkpoint before reaching the main ballroom.
He is now in custody as investigations continue into both the attack and the apparent security lapse that allowed him to enter the venue armed.
