Over the weekend, President Trump’s life was put in immediate danger during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington on Saturday. During the dinner, 31-year-old Torrance resident Cole Tomas Allen attempted to assassinate the president.
Footage from the attack shows Allen rushing a checkpoint at the event, where he opened fire, prompting the evacuation of the president and first lady Melania Trump. Allen was captured carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and knives. The reasoning behind the attempt was revealed in an FBI affidavit filed in the case, showing that Allen was troubled by multiple actions of the Trump administration. In the emails sent to various people, including his friends and family, the messages move between confession, grievance, and farewell, with Allen apologizing to family members, co-workers, and even strangers he feared could be caught in the violence, while at the same time seeking to explain the attack. Allen referred to himself as the ‘Friendly Federal assassin.’ Reports also show that he wrote a manifesto.
“Violence has no place in civic life,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference. “It cannot and will not be used to disrupt democratic institutions or intimidate those who serve them, and it certainly cannot continue to be used against the president of the United States.”
He added: “We are investigating this matter fully, we will apply the law fairly, and we will ensure that accountability is swift and certain.”
Allen is an educated tutor and an amateur game developer, and his education showed in how well this attack was planned. The affidavits showed that Allen reserved a room at the Washington Hilton on April 6 and checked in one day before the dinner after traveling from California.
Allen allegedly wrote that administration officials were his targets, “not including [FBI Director Kash] Mr. Patel,” and were “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” the complaint said. He allegedly wrote that Secret Service agents were targets “only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible,” the criminal complaint said.
The note said hotel security, Capitol police, and the National Guard were “not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me),” and hotel employees and guests were “not targets at all,” the complaint said.
The note said he would “go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary,” adding, ‘I really hope it doesn’t come to that,” according to the complaint.
Allen appeared in court on Monday, charged with three felony counts of attempted assassination of the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.