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President Donald Trump reacted angrily when he was asked about White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen’s alleged manifesto, which sharply criticized the Trump administration.
The president attacked CBS News for quoting from the manifesto in an interview with Trump that aired on 60 Minutes on Sunday.
“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re horrible people,” Trump said.
Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, reportedly sent the anti-Trump manifesto to his family members moments before the shooting, calling himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin.”
Elsewhere in the 60 Minutes interview, the president claimed “hate speech” from the Democrats was “very dangerous” and driving political violence in America.
Investigators are still reconstructing the chaotic moments surrounding the shooting.
Gunshots were fired inside the Washington Hilton shortly after 8:30pm, prompting scenes of panic as Secret Service agents rushed the president and other Cabinet officials out of the ballroom, while others took cover under tables.
The suspect shot and injured one law enforcement officer, before being detained near the hotel screening area, officials said. The officer was treated and released from the hospital on Sunday.
Allen faces impending firearms and assault charges and is set to be arraigned on Monday. He reportedly is not cooperating with authorities.
Acting head of Justice Department says Trump officials were targets
Shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen is believed to have traveled by train from California to Chicago and then onto Washington, where he checked himself in as a guest at the hotel where the gala dinner was held with its typically tight security, said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. He is believed to have acted alone and is set to face criminal charges on Monday.
Law enforcement personnel detain Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, in Washington, DC, US, 25 April 2026 (Reuters)
Authorities say Allen attempted to charge toward the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, US president Donald Trump being hurried off the stage unharmed 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.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 06:24
Suspect’s brother reached out to Connecticut police
Suspect Cole Tomas Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the writings, according to the law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The New London Police Department said in a statement it was contacted at 10.49pm, about two hours after the shooting, by an individual who wanted to share information related to it. The police department said it then immediately notified federal law enforcement.
FBI agents canvass the neighborhood of the suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter on 26 April 2026 in Torrance, California (Getty)
Allen’s sister, who lives in Maryland, told investigators her brother had legally purchased several weapons from a California gun store and kept them at their parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge, according to the official.
She described her brother as prone to making radical statements, the official said.
Allen legally bought a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun two years later, according to the law enforcement official and another one who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 06:17
DC gala shooting suspect aired grievances against Trump in writings to family
The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner railed against Donald Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” in writings sent to family members minutes before an attack that authorities increasingly believe was politically motivated, according to a message reviewed by The Associated Press.
The writings, sent shortly before shots were fired on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to president Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions, including US strikes on boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
(Reuters)
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 uncovered what one law enforcement official described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California man accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint at the dinner while armed with multiple guns and knives.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 06:13
Suspect armed with handgun, shotgun and multiple knives
Washington Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun and stored them at his parents’ home, the White House official said.
(Reuters)
The suspect lived with his parents in a two-story house on a tree-lined street with picket fences and craftsman-style homes in the historic district of Torrance, a seaside town in the South Bay area of greater Los Angeles.
Neighbors in the middle-class neighborhood on Sunday said they were only casually acquainted with him and his parents, with most saying they never spoke to him beyond a brief hello or waving to them as they gave Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:52
Suspect Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto to family before opening fire
The suspected shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner sent a manifesto critical of President Donald Trump to his family before he allegedly opened fire at the Washington Hilton, The New York Post reports.
The Post reported that the manifesto showed that Allen allegedly wanted to kill officials from the Trump administration.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:44
Most Americans believe political rhetoric is encouraging violence
Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a rally last September, just months after the June 2025 slaying of Democratic Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and the wounding of a Minnesota state senator.
(AFP/Getty)
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the days following Kirk’s murder found Americans believe increasingly harsh rhetoric surrounding politics is encouraging violence in the US.
A White House official said law enforcement officials who interviewed suspect Cole Tomas Allen’s sister were told he had a tendency to make radical statements, had attended an anti-Trump “No Kings” protest and referred to a plan to do “something” to fix issues with today’s world.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:24
Video: Trump says ‘NFL should hire’ WHCD shooting suspectTrump says ‘NFL should hire’ WHCD shooting suspect
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:22
What happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?
Officials have said the suspect fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested.
Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, vice president JD Vance and Cabinet officials were rushed out as the incident unfolded. The Secret Service agent who was shot escaped serious injury because the bullet struck his protective vest, Trump said.
Attendees leave the venue as a shooter opens fire during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC, US, 25 April 2026 (Reuters)
Trump, who had boycotted the media gala in the past, has requested that the dinner be rescheduled within 30 days. White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang of CBS said the group’s board would determine their next steps.
The suspect will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.
Further federal indictments will be coming later, Blanche said.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:22
Video: Trump makes fresh case for controversial $400 million ballroom after WHCD shootingTrump makes fresh case for controversial $400 million ballroom after WHCD shooting
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:18
Why Trump, MAGA and Fetterman say correspondents’ dinner shooting seals the deal for $400M White House ballroom
For months, the construction of President Donald Trump’s desired White House ballroom has made headlines and even seemed to consume the president’s attention during unrelated events, where Trump will often go on diatribes about the construction process or building plans. A federal judge halted the project earlier this month, while allowing construction of a secure bunker on the White House complex to continue.
Trump had the residence’s iconic East Wing demolished without warning to make room for the structure.
Namita Singh27 April 2026 05:01