The suspected gunman in Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting allegedly left behind a manifesto that targeted Trump administration officials, mocked security at the Washington Hilton, and echoed the kind of violent anti-Trump rhetoric The Dallas Express has previously reported.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, has been identified as the suspect accused of opening fire near the dinner’s security area, where President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Cabinet officials, members of Congress, journalists, and guests had gathered.
The shooting marked the third armed attack involving Trump since 2024, following the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt and the Florida golf course assassination attempt, as covered by The Dallas Express.
The New York Post reported Sunday that Allen allegedly sent relatives an anti-Trump manifesto about 10 minutes before the shooting. The outlet reported that Allen signed the document as Cole “coldForce” “Friendly Federal Assassin” Allen.
The Los Angeles Times also reported that two federal sources confirmed that the document was under investigation by the FBI.
Manifesto Targeted Trump Officials
The reported manifesto allegedly described Trump administration officials as targets.
The New York Post reported that Allen listed “Administration officials” as targets and prioritized them “from highest-ranking to lowest.”
The outlet also reported that Allen allegedly wrote, “I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said preliminary findings suggest Allen was targeting members of the Trump administration, The Washington Post reported. The New York Post also reported that Blanche confirmed the alleged motive to NBC News.
Officials have not said whether Allen was specifically trying to kill Trump.
The Dallas Express has not independently reviewed or authenticated the full manifesto.
Manifesto Mocked Security
The reported manifesto also appeared to confirm security concerns raised after the shooting.
The New York Post reported that Allen criticized the Washington Hilton’s security, allegedly writing, “I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.”
He also allegedly criticized security for focusing on protesters and arrivals while failing to account for someone already inside the hotel, the Post reported.
That matters because Allen allegedly reached an area near the dinner’s security screening before opening fire. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, attendees publicly questioned security after the shooting, including claims that tickets were barely reviewed and bag checks were not visible before guests entered the event.
Echoes Of Assassination Culture
The reported manifesto did not emerge in a vacuum.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, critics have warned about a growing left-wing “assassination culture” after the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. That coverage documented social media users celebrating Kirk’s death, media commentary that appeared to blame Kirk for his own assassination, and violent rhetoric aimed at conservatives, ICE agents, law enforcement, Christians, and Trump supporters.
Allen’s alleged language appears to fit that same moral framework: political opponents are not simply wrong; they are cast as criminals, oppressors, and targets.
The reported manifesto allegedly framed violence against Trump administration officials as a form of moral action that mirrors the broader rhetoric that The Dallas Express previously reported, where violence against conservatives and law enforcement has been excused, celebrated, or minimized by some left-wing voices.
The Dallas Express is not reporting that any elected official or media figure caused Saturday’s shooting.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Vice President JD Vance made a similar point after a deadly sniper attack on a Dallas ICE facility.
“Because here’s what happens. When Democrats like Gavin Newsom did, say that these people are ‘part of an authoritarian government.’ When the left-wing media lies about what they’re doing – when they lie about who they’re arresting – when they lie about the actual job of law enforcement – what they’re doing is encouraging crazy people to go and commit violence,” Vance said at the time.
Jeffries’ ‘Maximum Warfare’ Remark
Days before the shooting, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed “maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time” after Virginia voters approved a congressional map favorable to Democrats, Politico reported.
Jeffries made the remark in the context of partisan redistricting, not physical violence.
The phrase now lands inside a national environment where Trump has faced three armed attacks since 2024 and where a suspected gunman allegedly described Trump administration officials as targets.
Third Armed Attack Since 2024
Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when a gunman shot him in the ear during a campaign rally.
In September 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after federal prosecutors said he attempted to assassinate Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Then came Saturday night’s shooting near the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The attack unfolded at the Washington Hilton, the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981.
The reported manifesto, the alleged targeting of Trump administration officials, and Allen’s own reported comments about security now raise two questions: how did an armed suspect get so close, and how much violent political language can the country absorb before unstable people act on it?
