Update April 28, 2026, 12 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional info about the charges against Allen ; Originally published April 27, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
A gunman opened fire outside the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner (WHCD) attended by thousands of media members and top Trump administration officials over the weekend in yet another stunning attempt on President Donald Trump’s life.
The incident took place at the Washington Hilton – the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt 45 years ago – while President Trump was attending the annual event for the first time as president.
Shots Fired
On Saturday, 31-year-old Cole Allen, a self-employed video game developer and part-time teacher from the Los Angeles area, attempted to breach the final layer of security at the event as he reportedly carried a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
Allen booked a room at the Hilton in early April and traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., by train. According to CBS News, surveillance footage shows Allen leaving his room on the tenth floor Saturday evening dressed in all black and carrying weapons.
Instead of using the elevator, he ran down 10 flights of stairs and emerged at the terrace level of the hotel, a floor above where the event was taking place and the primary access point to the room where the president was sitting on the dais.
The event started at 8:00pm, the president and First Lady Melania Trump were seated around 8:15, and at 8:36pm surveillance footage shows Allen making a mad dash past the final layer of security before he was ultimately apprehended by the Secret Service.
One officer was shot during the arrest, but it is unclear if it was from the would-be assassin or friendly fire. Fortunately, the Secret Service agent was wearing a bulletproof vest and has already been released from the hospital.
The Suspect
A graduate of the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Allen didn’t do anything to hide his disgust for Trump and his administration online. In a post on Blue Sky dated April 15, he called Vice President Vance a “piece of shit” for not supporting funding for Ukraine.
On April 8, the day the ceasefire with Iran was announced, he posted the following: “Trump is literally one of those villains that if you beat his ass hard enough, he’ll join your team. Don’t really have any other insights to this, it’s not really actionable cause no way [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer] just canes him into acting his age, but, like, it would probably literally work on him.”
He also wrote a “manifesto” about his assassination attempt, which he reportedly sent to family members about 10 minutes before the shooting. According to CNN, members of Allen’s family notified law enforcement about the manifesto, though it is not yet clear if that happened before or after the attack.
In it, Allen referred to himself as “the Friendly Federal Assassin” and wrote that his intended targets were administration officials with the exception, he wrote with no explanation, Patel. “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” it read, in part.
Allen’s sister confirmed to law enforcement her brother purchased two handguns and a shotgun, which he stored at their parents house without telling them. He reportedly belonged to a leftist group called “The Wide Awakes” and attended a “No Kings” protest in California.
The Charges
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, Allen made his first appearance in federal court Monday afternoon as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges he is facing and their penalties at a press conference.
As Blanche explained, the Department of Justice filed three federal charges against the suspect in U.S. District Court, including attempted assassination of the president of the United States, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The attempted assassination charge is punishable by up to life in prison, while the transportation of a firearm to commit a felony count carries a penally of up to 10 years in prison. The final charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years with a maximum of life.
According to the arrest affidavit, Allen traveled from L.A. to D.C. by train and found in possession of a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a .38 semi-automatic pistol at the time of his arrest. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters at the Monday presser that those allegations, coupled with Allen’s ‘manifesto,’ will all be relevant to the case.
“We will prove when he purchased these guns. They were purchased in California. Why is that relevant? It is relevant because he crossed interstate lines with those firearms, and those are the firearms that he used on the night of the 25th or attempted to use at the very least,” she explained.
In the manifesto, Pirro said Allen made “his expected rules of engagement” clear. “You can look at it and read it, and it may seem kind of la, la, la,” she said. “But at the end, make no mistake, he says, ‘I am targeting the administration officials. They are my targets, and I’m prioritizing from the top down, the highest ranking, from the lowest, and I will not hesitate to get involved in any kind of encounter with anyone who blocks me from the president.'”
Pirro noted that additional charges will likely be brought as the investigation continues. Allen, meanwhile, did not enter a plea in court. His next hearing is set for Thursday and he remains in federal custody until then.
Security Concerns
Allen didn’t make it beyond the terrace level of the Hilton, so he didn’t get particularly close to the president and the many members of his administration – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Acting AG Blanche, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and FBI Director Kash Patel – in attendance. But he wasn’t that far away either.
In the wake of what could have been a truly catastrophic event, the focus has turned to the security, or lack thereof, at the hotel. According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration provided the same level of security it always has for the WHCD, which is a lower level than some other gatherings with high-ranking officials receive.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will reportedly hold a meeting with the people in charge of Trump’s security to discuss security protocol, and it appears as though they will have a lot to discuss.
The Analysis
On Monday’s show, Megyn had complete coverage of and reaction to the thwarted assassination with former NYPD detective and security expert Pat Brosnan and RealClearPolitics’ Susan Crabtree, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth. Keep scrolling for their analysis.
Would-Be WHCD Assassin’s ‘Manifesto’
Crabtree joined Megyn to share her latest reporting on the massive Secret Service security lapses at the event and in other recent instances, what the gunman’s “manifesto” said, Norah O’Donnell’s ridiculous questions to President Trump about it, and more.
Glaring Errors in Keeping Trump Safe at WCHD
Megyn and Brosnan discuss the shocking errors in security planning that led to the attempted assassination at the WHCD, why special forces should be involved in security going forward, and more.
Media Tries Making WHCD Shooting About Itself
Megyn, Bevan, Cannon, and Walworth react to the media trying to make themselves into heroes and victims after the shooting, young reporters making selfie videos instead of filming the actual news, and more.
Trump Tries Lowering the Temperature
Megyn and the RCP guys discuss President Trump’s impromptu press conference Saturday night calling for lowering the temperature after another attempted assassination, the left’s refusal to play ball with that opportunity, and more.
You can check out Megyn’s full coverage by tuning in to episode 1,304 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.