Cole Allen, a 31-year-old computer science engineer from California, just threw his life away – “allegedly” – after rushing a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, DC, on Saturday, with the intent of assassinating President Donald Trump and as many of his Cabinet officials as possible.
What was he doing right before then? Taking a selfie in a mirror in his room at the same hotel where the WHCD was held. But what about before then? Prosecutors state that the suspect arrived at the hotel equipped with a 12-gauge Mossberg Maverick 88 shotgun, a .38 caliber pistol, additional ammunition, knives, daggers, and tools before running through a Secret Service screening area towards the ballroom.
JUST IN: Federal prosecutors release new images and details of Cole Allen and his alleged attempt to assassinate president Trump. Here is a mirror selfie he took about 30 minutes before charging past the magnetometers. https://t.co/SjBVCPQJQO pic.twitter.com/tBPnPDOQPS
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 29, 2026
The memo provides evidence that Allen planned the attack ahead of time. He scheduled apology emails to be sent to friends and family just before the assault. Additionally, he wrote an explanation indicating that he targeted Trump and members of his administration, stating that he was willing to harm others to reach them.
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It comes in mens and womens and lets your friends know you're happy to express your views and don't care what anyone thinks! Cheers!
According to law enforcement’s timeline, Allen allegedly began preparing for the shooting after President Trump publicly announced on March 2 that he planned to attend the dinner. He searched for information about the event on April 6. He booked a two-night stay at the Washington Hilton that same day and read up on the dinner’s schedule, hosts, and attendees.
Before April 21, he allegedly purchased a one-way Amtrak ticket from Los Angeles to Washington. He traveled to Chicago first, then continued on to Washington, D.C. He viewed news coverage about Trump’s plans for the dinner during the trip. Allen arrived in D.C. on April 24, obtained a Metro pass, headed to Dupont Circle, and checked into the hotel that afternoon.
The defendant left his room several times on April 25, checked a website tracking the president’s schedule around 6:26 p.m. He took the selfie around 8:03 p.m., watched live coverage of the dinner to see when Trump arrived. He sent his prescheduled emails at 8:30 p.m., discarded the coat he used to conceal the shotgun and sprinted through the magnetometer and fire toward the stairs leading to the ballroom.
Allen is a highly educated part-time tutor and amateur game developer. He has a background in mechanical engineering and computer science and graduated from Caltech University. He has no prior criminal record, but I can almost guarantee he just wasted the bulk of his young life on a sick lie told to him by the Domestic Terrorism Party for years: Trump’s the devil!
