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  "path": "/news/cole-allen-new-details-emerge-shooting-investigation-suspect-due-court-monday",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-27T10:43:02.000Z",
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    "Push for White House ballroom accelerated by Correspondents’ Dinner shooting",
    "Cole Allen, accused WHCA gunman, had manifesto targeting Trump, top officials"
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  "textContent": "Cole Tomas Allen, the 31‑year‑old suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.\n\nAuthorities said Allen will face charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer, as well as other potential counts. A search of state and federal court databases showed no indication Allen had ever previously been charged with a crime, according to the Associated Press.\n\nREAD MORE: Push for White House ballroom accelerated by Correspondents’ Dinner shooting\n\n## Cole Allen manifesto\n\nAllen allegedly told law enforcement after his arrest that he intended to target President Donald Trump administration officials, according to information confirmed by Fox News. Minutes before the attack, he sent writings to family members in which he railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a \"Friendly Federal Assassin,\" a message reviewed by The Associated Press shows.\n\nThe writings, sent shortly before shots were fired Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to President Donald Trump without naming him directly and cited grievances over several administration actions, including U.S. strikes on boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean.\n\nInvestigators are treating the writings, along with social media posts and interviews with family members, as key evidence of Allen’s mindset and possible motives.\n\nAuthorities also uncovered what one law enforcement official described as numerous anti‑Trump social media posts linked to Allen, who is accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint at the dinner while armed with multiple guns and knives.\n\nRELATED: Cole Allen, accused WHCA gunman, had manifesto targeting Trump, top officials\n\n## Secret Service officer injured\n\nAs the dinner was underway, authorities said Allen rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton.\n\nOfficials said Allen was armed with multiple weapons when he opened fire, striking a Secret Service officer in his ballistic vest. Agents returned fire and tackled Allen, taking him into custody. Both the suspect and the injured officer were taken to a hospital, and the officer is expected to recover.\n\nThe incident adds to a growing list of threats involving Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and a recent case involving an armed intruder at Mar‑a‑Lago.\n\n## Family alerted authorities after receiving writings\n\nAllen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the writings the suspect sent shortly before the shooting, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, the AP reported.\n\nNew London police said they were contacted at 10:49 p.m., about two hours after the shooting, by an individual who wanted to share information related to the incident. The department said it immediately notified federal authorities.\n\nAllen’s sister, who lives in Maryland, told investigators her brother had legally purchased several weapons from a California gun store and kept them at their parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge, the official said. She described him as prone to making radical statements.\n\nThe writings reviewed by the AP totaled more than 1,000 words and read as a rambling, deeply personal message. They opened with a casual greeting before shifting into apologies to family members, co‑workers and strangers he feared could be harmed. The note moved between confession, grievance and farewell, with Allen thanking people in his life while attempting to explain the attack.\n\nElsewhere, he shifted between political anger, religious justifications and rebuttals to imagined critics. He also mocked what he described as lax security at the Washington Hilton and expressed surprise he was able to enter the hotel armed without detection.",
  "title": "Cole Allen: New details emerge in shooting investigation; suspect due in court Monday"
}