The man accused of opening fire outside the White House Correspondentsโ Dinner left behind a detailed โmanifestoโ describing his intent to target members of the Trump administration, โprioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,โ according to a copy obtained by CBS News.
Cole Allen, 31, allegedly sent the writing to family members before the attack. In it, he stated that while law enforcement, hotel employees, and guests were not his intended targets, he was willing to harm them if necessary to reach administration officials. โI really hope it doesnโt come to that,โ he wrote.
Authorities say Allen charged a security checkpoint outside the Washington Hilton on Saturday night armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and knives. President Donald Trump and other officials were quickly escorted from the event, which was later canceled. A Secret Service agent who was shot during the incident, while wearing a bulletproof vest, has since been released from the hospital.
The suspectโs brother reportedly alerted police in Connecticut after receiving the email, prompting law enforcement to intervene. Investigators later recovered additional writings from Allenโs home in Torrance, California, and his hotel room at the Hilton.
A chilling and ironic tone
Throughout the message, Allen adopted a matter-of-fact tone, at times veering into irony.
โHello everybody!โ he began. โSo I may have given a lot of people a surprise today.โ
He apologized to his parents โfor saying I had an interview without specifying it was for โMost Wanted,โโ and to colleagues and students for claiming he had a personal emergency. He suggested that by the time the email was read, he might already require medical attention, referring to potential injuries as โself-inflicted status.โ
Declared targets โ with one exception
Allen wrote that he chose to act because he did not want the administrationโs alleged โcrimesโ to โcoat [his] hands.โ While he did not explicitly name Trump or the event, he described a plan to target officials in descending order of rank.
He made one notable exception: โnot including Mr. Patel,โ he wrote, referencing the FBI director, who was also in attendance.
Allen added that he would avoid targeting Secret Service, Capitol Police, or National Guard personnel unless necessary. โI hope they are wearing body armor,โ he wrote.
He also detailed tactical decisions, claiming, โIn order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls).โ
Anticipating criticism
The manifesto included a section addressing hypothetical objections to his actions, along with rebuttals.
โAs a half-black, half-white person, you shouldnโt be the one doing this,โ he wrote as a potential criticism. โRebuttal: I donโt see anyone else picking up the slack.โ
He also referenced his Christian faith, writing that some might argue he should โturn the other cheek.โ
โRebuttal,โ he continued, โTurning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed.โ
Allen then described various unnamed individuals experiencing hardship, in some cases attributing their struggles to the administration.
โI donโt expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other way to get this close, I would have taken it,โ he added.
Criticism of security
In a postscript, Allen sharply criticized security measures at the event.
โPSโฆ what the hell is the Secret Service doing? โฆ No damn security. Not in transport. Not in the hotel. Not in the event,โ he wrote.
He claimed that if he had been a foreign agent, he could have brought in heavier weaponry without detection. Officials note that while the Washington Hilton hosted the event, it remained an operational hotel with public access, and only specific areas were secured.
Family warnings and prior behavior
Allenโs sister reportedly told investigators that he frequently used โradicalโ rhetoric and had previously discussed doing โsomethingโ to address what he saw as problems in society and government.
She also revealed her brother was a regular visitor to the shooting range, was a member of a group called “The Wide Awakes” and had previously attended a “No Kings” rally inย California.ย
Political reaction and unanswered questions
The motive behind the attack remains under investigation.
Former President Barack Obama emphasized the lack of confirmed details while condemning political violence broadly.
โAlthough we donโt yet have the details about the motives behind last nightโs shootingโฆ itโs incumbent upon all of us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy,โ Obama wrote. He also praised the Secret Service, calling their work โa sobering reminder of the courage and sacrificeโ they show.
During a โ60 Minutesโ interview, Trump reacted angrily after host Norah OโDonnell read excerpts from the alleged manifesto.
โYou read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all stuff that has nothing to do with me,โ Trump said, adding, โYou should be ashamed of yourselfโฆ Youโre a disgrace.โ
More than 2,500 people had gathered for the annual dinner, which celebrates the First Amendment. Trump, who has typically declined to attend during his presidency, had made a historic appearance this year and has since said he hopes to reschedule the event within 30 days.
The Full Manifesto
To read Allen’s full 1,052-word manifesto as published by The New York Post, with minor edits to improve profanity, see below:
Hello everybody!
So I may have given a lot of people a surprise today. Let me start off by apologizing to everyone whose trust I abused.
I apologize to my parents for saying I had an interview without specifying it was for โMost Wanted.โ
I apologize to my colleagues and students for saying I had a personal emergency (by the time anyone reads this, I probably most certainly DO need to go to the ER, but can hardly call that not a self-inflicted status.)
I apologize to all of the people I traveled next to, all the workers who handled my luggage, and all the other non-targeted people at the hotel who I put in danger simply by being near.
I apologize to everyone who was abused and/or murdered before this, to all those who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure.
I donโt expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other way to get this close, I would have taken it. Again, my sincere apologies.
On to why I did any of this:
I am a citizen of the United States of America.
What my representatives do reflects on me.
And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.
(Well, to be completely honest, I was no longer willing a long time ago, but this is the first real opportunity Iโve had to do something about it.)
While Iโm discussing this, Iโll also go over my expected rules of engagement (probably in a terrible format, but Iโm not military so too bad.)
Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest
Secret Service: they are targets only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible (aka, I hope theyโre wearing body armor because center mass with shotguns messes up people who *arenโt*
Hotel Security: not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me)
Capitol Police: same as Hotel Security
National Guard: same as Hotel Security
Hotel Employees: not targets at all
Guests: not targets at all
In order to minimize casualties I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls)
I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesnโt come to that.
Rebuttals to objections:
Objection 1: As a Christian, you should turn the other cheek.
Rebuttal: Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. Iโm not the person raped in a detention camp. Iโm not the fisherman executed without trial. Iโm not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration.
Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressorโs crimes.
Objection 2: This is not a convenient time for you to do this.
Rebuttal: I need whoever thinks this way to take a couple minutes and realize that the world isnโt about them. Do you think that when I see someone raped or murdered or abused, I should walk on by because it would be โinconvenientโ for people who arenโt the victim?
This was the best timing and chance of success I could come up with.
Objection 3: You didnโt get them all.
Rebuttal: Gotta start somewhere.
Objection 4: As a half-black, half-white person, you shouldnโt be the one doing this.
Rebuttal: I donโt see anyone else picking up the slack
Objection 5: Yield unto Caesar what is Caesarโs.
Rebuttal: The United States of America are ruled by the law, not by any one or several people. In so far as representatives and judges do not follow the law, no one is required to yield them anything so unlawfully ordered.
I would also like to extend my appreciation to a great many people since I will not be likely to be able to talk with them again (unless the Secret Service is *astoundingly* incompetent.)
Thank you to my family, both personal and church, for your love over these 31 years.
Thank you to my friends, for your companionship over many years.
Thank you to my colleagues over many jobs, for your positivity and professionalism.
Thank you to my students for your enthusiasm and love of learning.
Thank you to the many acquaintances Iโve met, in person and online, for short interactions and long-term relationships, for your perspectives and inspiration.
Thank you all for everything.
Sincerely,
Cole โcoldForceโ โFriendly Federal Assassinโ Allen
PS: Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing? Sorry, gonna rant a bit here and drop the formal tone.
Like, I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo.
What I got (who knows, maybe theyโre pranking me!) is nothing.
No damn security.
Not in transport.
Not in the hotel.
Not in the event.
Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance.
I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.
The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals, because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before.
Like, this level of incompetence is insane, and I very sincerely hope itโs corrected by the time this country gets actually competent leadership again.
Like, if I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here and no one would have noticed s**t.
Actually insane.
Oh and if anyone is curious is how doing something like feels: itโs awful. I want to throw up; I want to cry for all the things I wanted to do and never will, for all the people whose trust this betrays; I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.
Canโt really recommend it! Stay in school, kids.