President Donald Trump said the suspect had written an anti-Christian manifesto and called him a “disgusting person.”
Published April 26, 2026
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said U.S. authorities believe the gunman suspected of trying to break into the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was targeting President Donald Trump and members of his administration.
Blanche said Sunday that authorities believe the suspect traveled from California to Washington, D.C., by train via Chicago.
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Secret Service agents subdued the gunman Saturday night and the shooting occurred near a banquet hall where a dinner was being held as Mr. Trump, senior administration officials and hundreds of journalists attended the event.
Investigators have not released the suspect’s name, but multiple U.S. media outlets have identified him as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
Trump told Fox News that the suspect’s family expressed concerns about him to local police before the event. The president also told a television news channel that the accused man had written an anti-Christian manifesto.
“That man is a sick man,” he told Fox News. “If you read his manifesto, he hates Christians.”
Law enforcement officials who conducted an initial examination of the suspect’s electronic devices and copyrighted material believe he intended to target members of the Trump administration who were attending the dinner.
“It looks like he was actually trying to target people in the administration, and that probably includes the president,” Blanche told NBC Television.
The attorney general said the two firearms the suspect was carrying Saturday night appear to have been purchased in the past several years. Blanche said he has not been cooperative with law enforcement and is expected to be arraigned on multiple charges Monday.
Social media posts believed to match the suspect identify him as a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer with multiple degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering.
A video posted by President Trump showed the suspect running past a security barricade as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One police officer wearing a bulletproof vest was shot but is recovering, officials said. Police said the gunman was taken into custody and was taken to a hospital for evaluation with no injuries.
Outside the hotel, National Guard troops and other authorities poured into the area as helicopters circled overhead.
President Trump used the incident to push his plan to build a grand ballroom next to the White House, a plan that has faced legal challenges and polls show most Americans oppose it.
“What happened last night is exactly why our great military, our secret services, our law enforcement agencies, and every president for the last 150 years, for a variety of reasons, have called for the construction of a large, secure ballroom on the grounds of the White House,” President Trump said Sunday on his Truth Social platform.
The $400 million ballroom became a passion project for President Trump during his second term.
President Trump took a rare conciliatory stance after his third life challenge in less than two years, calling for unity and bipartisan healing.
