Trump Dinner Shooting Suspect Sent Family A Manifesto Listing Targets 10 Minutes Before Attack

A 31-year-old California man accused of opening fire outside the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner allegedly sent an anti-Trump manifesto to family members just minutes before the shooting, according to reports.

The suspect, identified as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, is now in custody after being stopped at a security checkpoint before he could reach the ballroom where President Donald Trump, the first lady and around 2,500 guests had gathered.

The incident unfolded on Saturday night while Trump and attendees were inside the hotel for the annual dinner. Investigators are now examining a lengthy document Allen allegedly sent to relatives about 10 minutes before the shooting, laying out his motives, intended targets and his criticism of security arrangements at the venue.

Manifesto allegedly named Trump officials as targets

According to a New York Post report citing a US official, the document was later handed over to police by one of Allen's relatives. In it, Allen allegedly signed off using the name "Cole 'coldForce' 'Friendly Federal Assassin' Allen."

The manifesto reportedly listed Trump administration officials as his intended targets and said they were ranked by seniority. It also specifically noted that FBI Director Kash Patel was not included.

"Administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel): they are targets, prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest," he wrote.

Allen also wrote that he had chosen buckshot instead of slugs, claiming it was meant to reduce the risk of bullets travelling through walls, though he suggested he was still prepared to harm others if he believed it was necessary to reach those he was targeting.

"In order to minimise 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 paedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit), but I really hope it doesn't come to that," he wrote.

Suspect described attack as response to others' suffering

The document also reportedly laid out Allen's ideological reasoning, portraying the planned violence as a response to what he believed were broader injustices rather than a personal grievance.

"Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I'm not the person raped in a detention camp. I'm not the fisherman executed without trial," he wrote. "Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behaviour; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes."

He also directly attacked Trump and senior members of the administration in the text.

"I am no longer willing to permit a paedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes," Allen wrote.

Allen also claimed hotel security failed to notice weapons

Investigators are also reviewing Allen's claims about how he entered the Washington Hilton. In the manifesto, he allegedly wrote that he had walked into the hotel with multiple weapons without drawing suspicion from anyone.

"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 wrote.

He went on to criticise what he described as security focusing on protestors and same-day arrivals, rather than considering the possibility that someone could check into the hotel earlier and remain inside before the event.

"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 it's corrected by the time this country gets actually competent leadership again."

Allen further added, "Like, if I were 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. Actually insane."

Brother alerted police after receiving the document

It was Allen's brother who first alerted authorities after receiving the manifesto, according to the US official cited by The New York Post. He reportedly contacted the New London Police Department in Connecticut, helping trigger the response after the document surfaced.

Federal agents also interviewed Allen's sister, who lives in Rockville, Maryland. She reportedly told the Secret Service that Allen had a history of making politically radical remarks and had previously spoken about wanting to do "something" in response to what he saw as the world's problems.

The case is now being investigated as authorities piece together how Allen allegedly entered the hotel armed, what exactly he planned to do next, and whether the manifesto reflects a broader threat beyond the shooting outside the event.