A gunman who attempted to attack a White House Correspondents’ Association event in Washington, D.C., reportedly wrote a 1,000-word manifesto that laid out his intended targets while naming one Trump administration official he didn’t intend to harm: the FBI director. Kashi Patel.The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, sent a lengthy document to his family shortly before he exchanged gunfire with U.S. Secret Service agents outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday night.In the manifesto, Allen describes himself as “Cole’s ‘cold force’ friendly federal assassin’ Allen” and outlines a plan to target Donald Trump and senior officials in his administration. He wrote, “Government officials (excluding Mr. Patel: They are targets, prioritized from highest to lowest. “Allen also called himself an American and said he was “no longer willing to let a pedophile, rapist and traitor cover up his crimes at my hands.” He added that his goal was to limit casualties, saying he would only target Secret Service agents “when necessary” and would avoid harming guests and staff unless forced.“I would still cut through most of the people here to get there if absolutely necessary (as most people choose to attend speeches by pedophiles, rapists and traitors and are therefore complicit), but I really hope it doesn’t come to this,” Allen wrote.Authorities said Allen traveled by train from California, where he lived and worked as a teacher in the Los Angeles area. A graduate of Caltech, he describes himself on LinkedIn as a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist, experienced indie game developer, and teacher.”His sister told law enforcement that he “tends to make radical statements and that his comments continually refer to doing ‘something’ to solve the problems of today’s world,” according to NPR, citing White House sources.The suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, according to the D.C. Police Department. Allen’s brother called police after reading his manifesto.Allen exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents outside the event and was taken into custody.
