The man set to be charged with carrying out an attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appears to have donated to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
The suspect, who is in custody and has been widely identified as Cole Tomas Allen, contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, according to federal campaign finance records. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, including President Donald Trump, who was attending the dinner.
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Allen, 31, graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile. He later obtained a master’s degree in computer science before becoming an independent video game developer.
U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro stated that among “many more charges” expected to be filed, the suspect will be charged with two counts of using a firearm nd a second crime of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. The suspect has no prior criminal record, according to officials.
The FBI is investigating the incident, in which the suspect was arrested after charging the security checkpoint and shooting a Secret Service officer. Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives and ran toward the Washington Hilton ballroom where the dinner was being held after charging the event’s security checkpoint, according to the interim police chief for the Metropolitan Police Department, Jeff Carroll.
Trump was attending the dinner Saturday evening. The president, Vice President JD Vance, and other top-level officials were swiftly evacuated from the Washington, D.C., event and are safe. The dinner will be rescheduled over the next several weeks.
TRUMP AND CABINET MEMBERS EVACUATED FROM CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER AFTER SHOOTING
In a press conference following the event, Trump said assassins target “the most impactful people.”
“I hate to say I’m honored by that, but I’ve done a lot,” he said. “In light of this evening’s events, I ask all Americans to recommit to resolving our differences peacefully.”
