Published by TrenBuzz.com | April 27, 2026 | BREAKING UPDATE
Key Points at a Glance- Cole Allen Chilling Manifesto
- Cole Tomas Allen sent a written manifesto to family members minutes before charging the WHCD security checkpoint — his brother notified Connecticut police immediately.
- Allen described himself in the document as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” — apologizing to family and non-targeted people in a chilling matter-of-fact tone.
- He specifically said he would spare FBI Director Kash Patel — writing “not including Mr. Patel.”
- Allen was a member of “The Wide Awakes” — a social justice activist group — and had attended a “No Kings” protest in California.
- Allen’s sister told investigators he had a tendency toward radical rhetoric and constantly talked about doing “something” to fix today’s world.
- President Trump appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes the day after the attack — praising Secret Service but clashing with anchor Norah O’Donnell when she read from the manifesto.
- UFC CEO Dana White was seated directly in front of Trump — and admitted he refused to get down when agents ordered it.
- Dan Bongino said the security perimeter was “compressed too far” and called Trump “the luckiest man on Earth.”
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and actress Patricia Heaton were also confirmed guests evacuated from the ballroom.
- Trump called for the WHCD to be rescheduled within 30 days with stronger security.
Twenty-four hours after the most dramatic Secret Service evacuation since Ronald Reagan was shot outside a Washington hotel in 1981, a clearer and far more disturbing picture is emerging of who Cole Thomas Allen was — and what he planned.
A White House official told NPR that Allen sent his family members what the White House is calling a manifesto minutes before the incident took place at the Hilton hotel. The document states that Allen wanted to target administration officials. Allen’s brother notified police in Connecticut after receiving the document.
Inside the Manifesto — What Allen Wrote
In the manifesto sent to his family, the 31-year-old California man described himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and apologized to his family and other “non-targeted people.” He wrote: “Hello everybody! So I may have given a lot of people a surprise today.” He also apologized to colleagues and his students for telling them he had a personal emergency.
Allen wrote that law enforcement, hotel employees, and guests weren’t his intended targets but that he would still attack them to get to the administration, adding: “I really hope it doesn’t come to that.” He laid out his targets as administration officials “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest” — but specifically said “not including Mr. Patel,” referring to FBI Director Kash Patel who was also at the dinner.
Allen addressed hypothetical objections to his plan. One read: “As a half-black, half-white person, you shouldn’t be the one doing this.” His rebuttal: “I don’t see anyone else picking up the slack.” When he raised his Christian faith as another objection, he wrote: “Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed.”
The Wide Awakes — Who Are They?
Allen’s sister told investigators that her brother attended a “No Kings” protest in California and was part of a group called The Wide Awakes — a network of activists dedicated to social justice issues that bears the same name as the 1860s abolitionist youth movement.
The White House confirmed the suspect was associated with The Wide Awakes, and authorities found anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on Allen’s social media accounts. Allen had donated $25 to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign through ActBlue in 2024.
Inside the Ballroom — What Guests Saw
Trump was surrounded by Secret Service agents about ten seconds after the shots were fired. Once armed guards in tactical gear with rifles appeared on the dais, Trump was escorted off stage, briefly falling in the process. Many of the roughly 2,600 attendees took cover under their tables. White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino unsuccessfully attempted to start a “U-S-A!” chant as Trump was escorted out.
UFC CEO Dana White was sitting right in front of Trump, so agents went right by his table. He told NBC News it was a “crazy unique experience” and “f—— awesome.” He described tables getting flipped over and agents running in with guns screaming “Get down” — and admitted: “I didn’t get down.”
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and actress Patricia Heaton were among the notable guests evacuated from the ballroom following the incident.
Trump on 60 Minutes — The Clash With Norah O’Donnell
Just a day after the shooting, President Donald Trump appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes with anchor Norah O’Donnell. Trump became defensive when O’Donnell read an excerpt of the suspect’s reported writings, which didn’t mention Trump by name: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” Trump told O’Donnell: “You shouldn’t be reading that on ’60 Minutes,’ you’re a disgrace.”
Trump also recalled the moment he was rushed from the stage: “I wanted to see what was happening, and I wasn’t making it that easy for them. I wanted to see what was going on.” He said agents asked him and Melania to drop to the floor as they walked offstage, adding: “I’ve been through this a couple of times.”
Despite his clashes with the press, Trump said it was “really bad for a crazy person to be able to cancel something like this” and called for the dinner to be rescheduled within 30 days with greater security. “We should do it within 30 days, and they’ll have even more security, and they’ll have bigger perimeter security,” he said.
Bongino’s Security Warning — Was the Perimeter Too Small?
Dan Bongino appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend Sunday morning and questioned whether the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton was too compressed, given it was an open hotel still doing business. “This has to be the luckiest man on Earth,” Bongino said of Trump. “You can have the greatest Secret Service in the world, but the hard reality is they’re always reacting — and reacting is always slower than acting.”
The Washington Hilton holds a painful place in American history — it is the exact same hotel where a gunman shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Saturday night, history nearly repeated itself.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational and news reporting purposes only. All quotes, manifesto details, and facts referenced are based on publicly available and credible news sources including CBS News, NPR, Fox News, CNN, and NBC News as of April 27, 2026. Cole Tomas Allen is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The manifesto details cited have not been independently verified by TrenBuzz.com. Readers are encouraged to follow credible news sources for the latest developments.