Cole Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, sent his family a 1,052-word manifesto detailing his motives, intended targets and plan of action minutes before he carried out the attack.The message, signed “Cole ‘Cold’ Friendly Confederate Assassin’ Allen,” began with a series of apologies.“I may have surprised a lot of people today…I apologize to my parents…my colleagues and students…and all other non-target groups…whom I put in danger,” he wrote, according to the New York Post.He added, “I’m not expecting forgiveness, but if I can find any other way to approach this, I’ll accept it.”
Targeting “Administrative Officials”
Allen said he viewed the attack as a “responsibility” and wrote that he was “no longer willing to allow the … crimes” of American leadership to “cover my hands.”“As to why I do all this: I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. I am no longer willing to allow a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to cover up his crimes on my hands. (Well, to be honest, I stopped being willing a long time ago, but this is the first real opportunity I have to do something about it).”He plans to target government officials “in order of priority from the highest to the lowest,” while explicitly excluding one official — “Mr. Patel,” a reference to FBI Director Kash Patel.Also read: Kash Patel ‘scrolls on phone’ as agents rush guests from Washington shooting scare involving TrumpHis manifesto proposed “rules of engagement” that clearly stated that Secret Service personnel would be targeted “only when necessary,” preferably “non-lethal” targets, while hotel workers, guests and employees were “not targets at all.”However, he added, “If absolutely necessary, he would still get through the majority of people here to get there.”Allen said he chose buckshot rather than bullets to “minimize casualties,” noting that would reduce wall penetration.
Reasons and rebuttals
The document includes sections addressing anticipated criticisms.Responding to religious objections, he wrote: “To turn the other cheek when you yourself are oppressed… is to turn the other cheek when others are oppressed… to be complicit.”He also dismissed concerns about timing and status, saying, “This is the best timing and chance of success that I could think of,” and “I don’t see anyone else coming to fill that void.”
Final message and safety criticism
Allen concluded by thanking family, friends, colleagues and students before criticizing the venue’s security arrangements.“What the hell is the Secret Service doing? … There’s no damn security. Not in transportation.” Not in the hotel. “That was not the case,” he wrote, adding that he was able to enter armed with weapons without being detected. He claimed that if he were a foreign agent, he could carry heavier weapons without being detected.Also read: Washington shooter’s sister says Cole Thomas Allen wanted to ‘fix the world’ after failed attack on TrumpHe concluded by describing the emotional toll the act took, “It was horrible. I wanted to throw up… It’s really not recommended! Kids, stay in school.”
Attack and aftermath
Allen rushed to the security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, a pistol and a knife. Law enforcement sources said Allen’s brother alerted police after receiving the manifesto, while more writing was found at his home in California and in a hotel room in Washington.The attack sparked chaos at an event attended by President Donald Trump and senior officials, who were evacuated after gunfire erupted. The event was canceled shortly after.The incident marked the latest episode of political violence in the United States, and the shooting occurred as more than 2,500 attendees attended the high-profile gala.Trump later reflected on the incident and said, “We live in a crazy world.”