The suspect allegedly wrote a manifesto that was sent to family members, a White House official said.
The suspect who was arrested following a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that President Donald Trump and other administration officials were attending was identified by a senior administration official as a California man who also wrote a manifesto.
A White House official confirmed to the The Epoch Times Sunday that the suspect had been identified as Cole Allen, of Torrance, California. The official also said Allen had allegedly written a manifesto that indicated he was targeting Trump administration officials.
Allen was taken into custody on Saturday evening after the shooting at the dinner, which prompted an evacuation of the event. A Secret Service agent was shot in the chest but was wearing a bulletproof vest, Trump said at a quickly organized press conference on Saturday night following the incident.
Neither Trump nor any administration officials were harmed during the incident.
Suspect Wrote Manifesto: WH
The White House official and Trump said Sunday that Allen allegedly wrote a manifesto, which contained his political views. A family member told law enforcement officials that Allen sent the manifesto to them minutes before the incident, the official added.
Trump commented on the alleged manifesto in an interview with Fox News on Sunday morning, saying that it had “anti-Christian” viewpoints.
“When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians, that’s one thing for sure,“ Trump said. ”He hates Christians, a hatred, and I think his sister, or his brother, actually was complaining about it. You know, they were even complaining to law enforcement. So he was, he was a very troubled guy.”
The president added that Allen “had a lot of hatred in his heart for quite a while” and that “his family knew that he had difficulty.”
Allen allegedly told family members he would make radical statements, and said he wanted to fix problems with the world, the official also said. Allen also had displayed “anti-Christian” and “anti-Trump” viewpoints on social media, the White House official said.
Allen’s brother had notified law enforcement in New London, Connecticut, about the alleged manifesto.
Allen Attended ‘No Kings’ Protest
Other details were provided about Allen by the White House official, including that Allen was part of a group called “The Wide Awakes” and attended at least one “No Kings” protest in California. The Wide Awakes originated as an anti-slavery political organization set up to elect Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 presidential election, and a social action movement has formed under that name more recently.
The No Kings demonstrations are a series of anti-Trump protests that have been held in a number of cities across the United States in 2025 and 2026.
One No Kings demonstration held in March was organized to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
The official said Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms, an online firearms portal, and kept the firearms at a parent’s home. His parents were not aware he was keeping the guns in the home, the official added.
AG Says Investigation ‘Quite Preliminary’
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the investigation into the case is ongoing and “quite preliminary,” as he spoke to NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning.
Allen is not cooperating with law enforcement officials, Blanche added. He said law enforcement officials are investigating “some writings” and are speaking with people who knew him.
“I kept it a little general because we do believe it was administration officials,” he said. “Obviously, President Trump is a member of the administration, the head of it, but, but as far as exacting threats that may have been communicated beforehand, we’re still actively investigating that evidence.”
Blanche declined to provide more details about Allen’s writings or his motivations.
“At this point, we do not have somebody who is cooperating,” Blanche said.
Trump, Administration ‘Likely’ the Target
Also in the interview, Blanche said Allen was “likely” targeting Trump and administration officials. He cited findings that were made during the initial phase of the investigation.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president, but I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that,” he said.
Allen is expected be formally charged on Monday morning in federal court, the acting attorney general said.
“Not atypically, in a case like this, there will be an assault of a federal officer charge,” Blanche said. “There will be a charge about him discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, and then there are potentially charges beyond that that come from reviewing of the evidence and if we understand his motivations and as we continue to gather.”
Social Media Pages Uncovered
A LinkedIn page that is believed to belong to Allen shows he had worked a part-time teacher and tutor, and he was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024 at C2 Education, a test-preparation service.
Allen, who has a master’s degree in computer science, is listed as the developer of a video game, “Bohrdom,” that was shown as available on Steam.
The Epoch Times could not immediately confirm that Allen created the game.
Trump posted to social media a photo of Allen lying face-down on the floor after his arrest Saturday night.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
