Draft:Cole Tomas Allen

Cole Tomas Allen
Photograph taken of Allen by law enforcement shortly after his initial arrest
Born	(1995-04-11) April 11, 1995 Torrance, California, US
Education	California Institute of Technology California State University, Dominguez Hills
Known for	2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting
Criminal charges	4 counts
Details
Date	April 25, 2026
Locations	Washington Hilton, Washington, D.C.
Injured	1
Weapons	12-gauge Maverick shotgun Armscor Precision .38 semi-automatic pistol Ka-Bar knife Three Smith & Wesson boot knives

Cole Tomas Allen (born April 11, 1995) is an American former academic tutor, video game developer, and mechanical engineer who attempted to assassinate president Donald Trump and several of his cabinet officials during the 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25, 2026. Allen, a Wide Awakes follower, allegedly believed that if he succeeded in doing so, it would "fix the issues of the modern world."

On April 21, Allen left his Torrance, California home and boarded Amtrak, taking two of their routes; the Southwest Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago and the Floridian from Chicago to D.C., before checking in as a guest at the Washington Hilton Hotel on April 24. On April 25, at 8:36 p.m., the day of the event, Allen ran past a security checkpoint within the hotel with a 12-gauge shotgun and fired at least one shot, injuring a Secret Service agent, shooting him in his bulletproof vest, before tripping and falling to the ground after hitting his knee on a magnetometer box. He was then immediately tackled and arrested. The dinner was rescheduled for July 24, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in D.C.

Allen was charged with four criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate a US president, carrying a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges on May 11.

Early life and education

Cole Tomas Allen was born on April 11, 1995, in Torrance, California. He was homeschooled throughout high school, however he played volleyball at Pacific Lutheran High School via a special program his junior year. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He obtained a Master of Science degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in May 2025.

Career

Allen moved to the Greater Los Angeles area in 2010 to live with his parents, along with his two sisters and one brother. In March 2020, Allen began working for C2 Education, a tutoring firm in Torrance, and received a "Teacher of the Month" award from the company in December 2024.

White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting

Main article: 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting

CCTV footage of Allen running past the screening area near the ballroom

At about 8:00 p.m. EDT, Allen took a photo of himself standing in front of the mirror in his hotel room that he had reportedly had booked at the venue, dressed in black with a red neck tie. He reportedly also wore a small leather bag, a shoulder holster, a sheathed knife, pliers and wire cutters, before taking an unguarded back stairwell down from his room, which was 10 floors above the ballroom.

At 8:36 p.m., while dinner was being served inside the main ballroom, the suspect ran past a security checkpoint and authorities believe he fired at least one shot at a Secret Service agent. Investigators alleged that the suspect was running at at least nine miles per hour before he was apprehended, after he tripped and fell to the ground after hitting his knee on a magnetometer box. Several US Secret Service agents yelled "shots fired" inside the venue, according to pool reports.

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who was outside the main ballroom at the time, reported being only a few feet away from the gunman when the shots were fired. Blitzer described the shooter as firing what appeared to be "a very serious weapon" at least six times before being tackled and taken to the ground by police. Blitzer was ushered to safety in a nearby restroom by officers. It was later stated by investigators that the suspect had fired one shot with his shotgun and five rounds were fired by the Secret Service officer who had been struck in his bulletproof vest.

The Secret Service stopped the suspect from entering the ballroom and he was taken into custody at the scene, after being stripped of his shirt to determine if the suspect had any explosives on him. One law enforcement officer was struck in his bullet-resistant vest and was admitted to a hospital but was later released. The New York Times reported evidence suggesting that the suspect did not fire that round. Prosecutors later disputed this, stating that the suspect shot the officer. The gunman sustained a single knee injury from the tackle, for which he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Manifesto

At 8:30 p.m., 6 minutes before the shooting, Allen sent his manifesto, a text file titled "Apology and Explanation", to family members via email. Allen apologized to family and friends in his writing, and said that he does not expect forgiveness. It read in part:

I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes... Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes.

The manifesto does not name Trump, but lists among its grievances the federal government's strikes on what it claimed were drug boats in the Pacific early in 2026. It expressed Allen's astonishment regarding the seeming lack of security at the hotel; "What the hell is the Secret Service doing?… No damn security. Not in transport. Not in the hotel. Not in the event." CBS News noted that because the Washington Hilton was a "functioning hotel with numerous public spaces during the dinner", only the areas where the dinner took place were secured by the Secret Service. At least two of Allen's family members, upon reading the manifesto, immediately called the police.

Investigation

After the incident, FBI agents and the Torrance Police Department swarmed through Allen's house, using tactical gear and armored vehicles. Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche said that Allen boarded Amtrak on April 21 and took two of their routes, the Southwest Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago and the Floridian from Chicago to D.C., before checking in as a guest at the hotel on April 24. Allen's sister told Secret Service agents and the Montgomery County Police Department that Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun, which he stored at their parents' home without their knowledge.

Political views

Family members were interviewed by investigators and Secret Service agents said that Allen "made radical statements and that he constantly referenced a plan to do 'something' to fix the issues with today's world", that he was part of a Connecticut-based group called "The Wide Awakes" based in Hartford, attended No Kings protests in California, and would regularly go to a shooting range to train with firearms. According to Federal Election Commission records, Allen donated $25 to a Democratic Party PAC, ActBlue, for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign in October 2024.