Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, tried to attack the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. He was reportedly a hotel guest. He was armed with multiple firearms and knives and sprinted past security checkpoints outside the ballroom. He was stopped by police before he could enter the venue, but not after gunfire was exchanged. It led to the evacuation of President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other top Trump officials and congressional leaders from the event.
Updates on shooting at Washington Hilton:
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) April 26, 2026
- One suspect is in custody and is believed to have acted alone.
- Two firearms and multiple knives have been recovered.
- A Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was injured and transported with non-life threatening injuries.
Video of White House Correspondents Association evacuation via @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/e2r0JUIdpP
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 26, 2026
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is escorted out by Secret Service followed by agents surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, DC. According to reports, President Donald Trump, along with… pic.twitter.com/gue1l8AbxY
— Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) April 26, 2026
The dinner was postponed due to security concerns. The good news is that no one was killed. A Secret Service agent was hit by gunfire but was saved by his bulletproof vest. Allen admitted he was targeting Trump officials. However, the media tried to play the ‘we don’t know who he was targeting’ game, which was comical. For now, the left-leaning influencers on social media are pushing the ‘it was staged’ narrative because a) they’re Trump-obsessed, b) they’re generally foolish, and c) they don’t want to be held responsible for their nonsensical, violence-promoting rhetoric that fuels these lunatics trying to assassinate government officials. That is a fact, and it’s the worst people, too. And these people will be the ones asking why this happened.
The WHCD shooter will be used to justify things that have nothing to do with the WHCD shooter. Mark this moment.
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) April 26, 2026
Staged. As. Fuck.
— ThePatrioticBlonde™🇺🇸 (@ImBreckWorsham) April 26, 2026
F A L S E F L A G:
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) April 26, 2026
A false flag operation is A COVERT ACTION —such as an attack—DESIGNED to look like it was perpetrated by a different party.
These operations aim to create a false pretext for military action or to MANIPULATE PUBLIC OPINION.
Your periodic reminder that Rick Wilson is a horrible person. pic.twitter.com/okYFBeDeCn
— Amy Curtis (@RantyAmyCurtis) April 26, 2026
Disgusting. No words for this. God Bless President Trump. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/XRfssaUlZn
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 26, 2026
Unhinged leftist has a meltdown over the assassin not killing President Trump. pic.twitter.com/Z8eN8dfhBF
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) April 26, 2026
Immediately after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Lincoln Project co-founder @SteveSchmidtSES blamed President Trump for "poisoning the rhetoric" in America:
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 26, 2026
"He is a vile and disgusting man." pic.twitter.com/dUG2XrcCDl
Now they know how students feel when this kind of thing happens in their schools.
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) April 26, 2026
Stop. Staging. Fake. Assassination. Attempts. https://t.co/LuHEvT3eQE
— Jamie Bonkiewicz (@JamieBonkiewicz) April 26, 2026
This woman fantasizes about seeing headlines that Trump is dead: "I can’t fcking wait. It’s going to be glorious." pic.twitter.com/wOWzWPBaSC
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) April 25, 2026
His approval ratings are so bad that he staged another assassination attempt to get out of the White House correspondents’ dinner.
— Sarah Ironside 💙 (@SarahIronside6) April 26, 2026
For those of you who cannot comprehend, I’ll spell it out very clearly:
— Shannon Joy (@ShannonJoyRadio) April 26, 2026
I think the ‘shooting’ tonight was 1000% FAKE and staged for the purposes of propagandizing the American people and accelerating political agendas.
Bookmark this. 🔥
Also, CNN, Don Lemon—this is why people commit acts of political terrorism:
CNN published this two days ago pic.twitter.com/TZKpaBEkaW
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 26, 2026
Don Lemon on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner: “This is not normal. The Trump regime is trying to take away press freedom. They are trying to kill the First Amendment. You have to take a stand and if you’re in that room you are co-signing this. You are complicit in… pic.twitter.com/D8M3P3WZWs
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) April 26, 2026
Also, Mary Trump, you’re just grade-A trash:
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) April 26, 2026
Seriously, get help, lady. All of you people need help.
Just mock these clowns, some already have:
“It was staged.” pic.twitter.com/WAjXrKuDL8
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) April 26, 2026
You idiots who think Trump is staging assassination attempts. You think he would agree to a plan wherein someone STOPS HIM FROM TROLLING A CAPTIVE ROOM OF THOUSANDS OF JOURNALISTS FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF? This is his dream scenario.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) April 26, 2026
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