Minutes before the shooting began, Cole Tomas Allen sent his family a manifesto. In it, the 31-year-old described himself as the "Friendly Federal Assassin," laid out his targets within the Trump administration, and argued that the security at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was so porous that even a foreign operative could have walked through undetected.

"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 shit," he wrote, referencing the M2 Browning .50-calibre machine gun.

The document, signed 'Cole coldForce, Friendly Federal Assassin Allen', set the tone for what followed at the Washington Hilton, and revealed, in Allen's own words, precisely how he had thought through the attack.

Targets, intent and restraint, on his own terms

The manifesto named Trump administration officials as targets, ranking them from highest to lowest, while explicitly excluding FBI Director Kash Patel. Allen described his motive in stark moral terms, writing in apparent reference to President Trump: "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."

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He also outlined his tactical choices, framing them as an effort to limit collateral damage, up to a point. "In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls). I would still go through almost 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 doesn't come to that," he wrote.

A security failure hiding in plain sight

Allen's manifesto repeatedly returned to what he described as a fundamental flaw in the event's security, a focus on external threats that left no one watching for someone already inside.

"The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals. No one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before," he wrote.

He claimed to have entered the venue carrying weapons without being stopped, and mocked what he saw as institutional arrogance. "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," he reportedly wrote.

Officials confirmed Allen was stopped before reaching the ballroom where the dinner was being held, preventing further escalation.

The manifesto's ideology

Beyond the targets and tactics, the document reflected deeper ideological convictions. Speaking on Fox News' Sunday Briefing, President Trump said: "When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians."

According to an official cited by Reuters, the manifesto framed political violence in moral terms: "Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes."

The document also referenced Allen's association with a group called "The Wide Awakes" and his attendance at a "No Kings" protest in California during his time as a student and teacher.

How the attack unravelled

Allen's brother alerted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the manifesto. The document was forwarded to law enforcement shortly before the attack unfolded. Officials said Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms, which were stored at his parents' home, and that he regularly trained at a shooting range.

The Secret Service had previously spoken to Allen's sister, who told agents he frequently made politically extreme statements and had spoken about wanting to "do something" to address global issues. That conversation, it appears, was not enough to prevent him from getting inside.

Published on: Apr 27, 2026 7:31 AM IST