Suspect left manifesto targeting Trump officials before annual gala attack

Cole Allen, 31, sent an email to family members shortly before the annual press gala and left behind a written manifesto saying he wanted to target Trump administration officials, authorities said. The note, sent about 10 minutes before the attack, included an apology to his parents, colleagues, students, bystanders and others, and framed the violence as a campaign against senior figures in Washington rather than a random outburst.

The writings laid out a chilling hierarchy of targets. One section said, “Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” a line investigators said appeared to refer to FBI Director Kash Patel. The suspect also reportedly mocked the “insane” security at the Washington Hilton, saying he expected “security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo,” but found “nothing.”

President Donald Trump said the suspect had an anti-Christian manifesto and referred to himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin.” Authorities also found anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on Allen’s social media accounts, deepening concerns that the attack was driven by political and religious hatred rather than a single grievance.

Law enforcement sources identified Allen as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, and described him as an educator with an engineering degree from a prestigious university. He checked into the hotel on Friday, April 24, the day before the event, after traveling by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington. NBC News reported that Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives when he rushed a security checkpoint.

The attack triggered a fast evacuation of some of the nation’s most visible officials. Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others were moved out of the dinner area after the shooting. A Secret Service officer was struck by a round but was protected by a bulletproof vest and is expected to be OK.

Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the note, NBC News reported. Trump said family members had previously expressed concerns about Allen to law enforcement. Together, the writings, the travel trail and the hotel check-in point to a methodical, premeditated threat that exposed gaps in event security and raised fresh questions about how early warning signs are handled before politically charged attacks.