Correspondents' dinner shooting suspect charged with attempted assassination of Trump

The rush of guests entering the White House correspondents’ dinner was over, and now Helen Mabus, a volunteer ticket checker, had a moment to herself.

“It was very quiet,” she recalled.

But just then a man out in the corridor caught her attention: He was holding what she quickly realized was a rifle. Before she could react, he tore off toward the security checkpoint about 40 feet away.

“He either unfolded a part of the gun or pieced it together,” Mabus said. “It became longer before my eyes. And within seconds, he was shooting.”

At that moment, Erin Thielman, an Air Force veteran attending the dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening, was ascending the staircase leading from the ballroom entrance to the upper level where guests were screened. She was calling her son who was babysitting her other two children.

Read the full story here.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel tonight expressed sympathy for those who experienced the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner but defended a joke he made last week that has drawn the president's and first lady's ire.

The criticism came after a man charged a security checkpoint at the dinner and was taken into custody following what authorities said was an exchange of gunfire. Suspect Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

The incident happened days after Kimmel aired a skit on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” mocking the dinner and addressing the first lady. “You have a glow like an expectant widow,” he said on Thursday's show.

The jibe “obviously was a joke about their age difference," Kimmel said tonight, before adding sarcastically, "and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together.”

"It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that," Kimmel continued. "I've been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence."

The president earlier today said Kimmel “should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.” The first lady called on ABC to “take a stand,” saying the comedian “hides” behind the network.

Kimmel said he was sorry the couple and anyone else had to experience the shooting.

“I am sorry you and the president and everyone in that room went through that,” Kimmel said. But, he added, “As Americans, we have a right to free speech."

Read the full story here.

Trump administration officials today went after Democrats and the media. Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

Trump’s mollifying tone following Saturday night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner has since given way to accusations and finger-pointing from top administration officials who say Democrats and the media are largely to blame for the state of political violence in the U.S.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, White House communications director Steven Cheung and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt today bashed journalists and congressional Democrats for what they called divisive rhetoric.

“The political violence and rhetoric has got to stop,” Blanche said, while suggesting that many members of the media had been complicit.

“Many people in this room, if we’re going to be honest about it, have done it,” Blanche said to a room full of reporters. “They’re just as guilty as a lot of people on X when you have reporters, when you have media, media just being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence, without proof.”

Read the full story here.

People online are spreading unfounded conspiracy theories in the wake of a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, saying the shooting was "staged."

Unfounded conspiracies swirl online after shooting at White House Correspondents' Dinner

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The man suspected of opening fire at the WHCA dinner would have taken the Southwest Chief Amtrak route from Los Angeles, with stops in Denver, before reaching Chicago.

When he disembarked in Chicago, he would have taken either the Cardinal or Capital Limited Amtrak route east to Washington, said Jared Cassity, a director for transportation workers union SMART.

The trip would have taken around three days, Cassity said, noting that the trains, on average, carry around 250 to 500 passengers, with some reaching up to 600.

Trump reiterated in an interview on Fox News that he hoped the dinner could get rescheduled “within a short period of time, whether it’s 30 days or a little less, a little more.”

“We can’t let these criminals and these really bad people change the course of events in our country,” Trump said. “We have to, you know, it’s an important event. That was going to be an important event.”

Saturday night, Trump said he wanted the event to continue.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz said that House Republican Leader Steve Scalise helped him get out of the correspondents’ dinner after gunshots rang out.

Moskowitz, D-Florida, said that most members of Congress do not have security details; “we’re sitting ducks.”

Moskowitz said that when he heard gunfire and the crashing of plates, everyone got under the tables.

“I looked up and I saw that, you know, the people who had protective detail were being escorted out,” Moskowitz said.

“I got up, I went over to Steve, and I said, ‘Can I come with you?’ And he put his arm around me, and he said, ‘he’s with us,’ and took me into the secure room,” Moskowitz said. “I’m very grateful to Steve for doing that.”

Scalise, R-Louisiana, was shot and seriously wounded when a gunman opened fire on a Congressional baseball practice in 2017.

Moskowitz was the subject of a plot kill him and others in 2024 in Florida, he said in November. A man that authorities said had a list of people he wanted to kill pleaded guilty to federal firearms charges and sentenced last year to 25 years in prison.

NBC News correspondents Tom Winter, Gary Grumbach, and Monica Alba report on the latest fallout from the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. NBC News analysts Carol Lam, Evy Poumpouras provide insight on what happens next. Cynthia Miller-Idriss discusses the rise in political extremism.

33:55

The White House met with the leadership of the Secret Service and DHS today about the assassination attempt at Saturday’s correspondents’ dinner, a White House officials said.

The meeting had earlier been described as to review protocols and practices for major events that include Trump.

There are several high-profile events that Trump is set to attend in the coming months, with large crowds.

A spokesperson for the White House bluntly dismissed the baseless comments on social media and elsewhere that the assassination attempts against Trump have been staged.

“Anyone who thinks President Trump staged his own assassination attempts is a complete moron,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said today when asked for a response.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran this afternoon attended a meeting to brief the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Curran entered the briefing with committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Durbin told reporters after the briefing that he had a “better understanding” of what happened Saturday at the dinner. He said Curran gave him a “good explanation” and answered his and Grassley’s questions.

Asked if he believed, based on the briefing, that there was a lapse in security, Durbin said, “No, I saw no indication of that.”

Evidence shows that the suspect fired a shotgun during Saturday’s incident, but the investigation into the gunfire remains under investigation, Blanche said.

“We do believe, as the complaint lays out, that the suspect, the defendant fired out of his shotgun, and we know that that happened,” Blanche said.

“But as far as getting into exact ballistics, I’m not going to do that today because it’s still being looked at and finalized,” he said.

The empty shell casing from the fired 12-gauge shotgun was still in the weapon and had not been ejected, meaning the weapon had not been pumped to be reloaded, Blanche said. 

A photo of a weapon displayed today at a Justice Department news conference about the correspondents' dinner shooting suspect.  NBC News

Blanche qualified his statements that he is not on the ground doing the investigation.

Law enforcement fired five times, but the suspect was not hit, Blanche said. He said part of the investigation involves looking for the fired rounds and buckshot.

Weijia Jiang, White House Correspondents' Association president, shared on X that food from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was donated.

“The Hilton donated the ~2,600 dinners that went unserved at WHCD. They freeze-dried the steak and lobster for longer shelf life before giving them to two shelters for abused women and children. HUGE thank you to the staff that worked through the night under terrible circumstances,” Jiang wrote.

A Washington Hilton spokesperson told NBC News that the hotel donates unused food from events to support local organizations.

Law enforcement "did not fail" and succeeded in stopping a gunman from possibly killing administration officials in a Washington, D.C., ballroom, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Even though a suspected would-be assassin got inside the building where the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was being held Saturday, the nation’s top prosecutor insisted that safeguards worked as designed.

"We also should recognize what did not happen. Law enforcement did not fail," Blanche told reporters. "They did exactly what they are trained to do. This was not an accident."

The Trump administration has seized on Saturday night's confrontation as justification for construction of a massive new ballroom at the White House.

"We absolutely believe that there is no better example of why this ballroom is necessary ... than what happened on Saturday night," Blanche said.

Blanche: 'Law enforcement did not fail' at correspondents' dinner

01:38

The armed suspect ran past security, authorities said, but did not reach the ballroom.

In a note to family members before the shooting, the suspect apologized to his parents and said he planned to carry out a shooting because he vehemently opposed the Trump administration.

He said he planned to use buckshot to minimize civilian casualties.

Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel's terrace level around 8:40 p.m., then ran through a magnetometer while holding a long gun, according to the newly unsealed probable cause affidavit.

The Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint then heard a loud gunshot, and an officer was shot once in the chest. The officer was wearing a ballistic vest at the time.

The officer who was shot drew his service weapon and fired multiple times at the suspect, "who fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries but was not shot," according to the court document.

Blanche gives timeline of suspect's movements ahead of correspondents' dinner shooting

01:18

When Allen was arrested, according to the newly unsealed probable cause affidavit, he was in possession of a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38-caliber pistol.

The firearm transaction records reviewed by law enforcement show that he bought the shotgun around Aug. 17, 2025, from a dealer in California, according to the court document. He bought the pistol from a dealer in a different city in California on Oct. 6, 2023.

Cole Tomas Allen made a hotel reservation at the Washington Hilton for three nights, from Friday to Sunday, according to a newly unsealed probable cause affidavit.

He traveled by train from his home near Los Angeles to Chicago last Tuesday, arriving in Chicago on Thursday, the affidavit says. Then he boarded a train that arrived in Washington on Friday around 1 p.m.

Two hours later, around 3 p.m., he checked into a "specific hotel room" at the Hilton and remained there overnight, the affidavit says.

Allen wore a blue jumpsuit and spoke softly during his brief, first appearance before a federal judge.

The suspect scanned the public gallery, which included more than 40 members of the press and public, as he was led into court by marshals.

The Southern California man nodded as Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh explained various aspects of his proceedings.

“He attempted to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine told the court. “We are asking the court to preventatively detain Mr. Allen.”

Allen was remanded into custody, pending a hearing Thursday to determine if he's eligible for any kind of pretrial release.

Allen did not have to enter a plea by the conclusion of this brief hearing in front of Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh.

The suspect's preliminary hearing was set for May 11.

Allen came to Washington, D.C., armed with several deadly weapons, prosecutors said.

He was found to have a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and three knives, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine told the court.

“Mr. Allen has no prior arrests or convictions,” court-appointed defense lawyer Tezira Abe said. “He is presumed innocent at this time.”

Federal prosecutors accused shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen of seeking to assassinate President Donald Trump.

Allen, making his first court appearance since Saturday night's armed confrontation at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, was charged with three criminal counts.

He was formally accused of trying to assassinate the president, interstate transportation of weapons and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime.

President Trump joined his wife in attacking late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel, labeling his jokes as a "despicable call to violence" and "far beyond the pale."

Hours after the first lady went after Kimmel, the president lashed out on his Truth Social: "I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale."

Trump added: "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC."

Two days before the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Kimmel had joked that Trump's wife had "a glow like an expectant widow."

White House criticizes Jimmy Kimmel for comments about first lady before shooting

03:08

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that officials plan to discuss the issue involving the presidential line of succession because Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others who would be in that category attended the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

"It’s definitely a good question, and I know that it’s one that will be raised. I can assure you the president intends to attend the event, as he has told all of you publicly. I don't want to rule in or out the vice president's attendance, but certainly that’s a conversation that will take place," she told reporters at today's briefing.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed a question about disinformation going viral online, including conspiracy theories suggesting that the incident with the shooting suspect was staged.

"It's very important to us that we get the truth and the facts about this case and any case out there as quickly as possible to dispel some of that crazy nonsense that you do see running rampant online," Leavitt said at the White House press briefing today.

Leavitt said she thinks the Justice Department and FBI "have done a good job of disseminating the truth and the facts about this alleged attempted assassin, the perpetrator in this case."

"So as far as we're concerned, just providing maximum transparency, and hopefully people will believe the truth rather than the lies and the conspiracies that so often do go crazy on social media," she added.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed the "systemic demonization" of Trump and his supporters for the political violence that has been directed at the president.

“This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day for 11 years has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment," she said at the press briefing.

She added, "Those who constantly falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy and compare him to Hitler to score political points, are fueling this kind of violence."

Blanche said on “Meet the Press” that law enforcement believes that the suspect took a train from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.

“We believe what happened, at least as of now, is that the suspect traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, D.C., where he checked into the hotel where the correspondents’ dinner was at in the last day or two,” Blanche said.

The suspect is expected to be charged in federal court today.

The initial appearance for Cole Tomas Allen is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. ET at a federal court in Washington.

The Department of Justice has scheduled at 3 p.m. news conference today, setting the stage for more details to emerge about Saturday night's armed confrontation at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old suspect and Southern California native, is also expected to make his first appearance before a federal judge this afternoon.

Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was not designated a National Special Security Event, U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Matt Fagiana said in an email yesterday to NBC News.

Such designation is granted by the Department of Homeland Security for high-profile events that may be targets of criminal activity and where many U.S. officials may be gathered. Examples are presidential inaugurations, State of the Union addresses or presidential nominating conventions.

When an event is designated, the Secret Service becomes the lead federal agency responsible for security operations. Designated events can receive federal funding for additional security.

Gathered at Saturday night’s dinner were Trump, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and several Cabinet officials in the presidential line of succession.

Trump, however, praised the actions of the Secret Service in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

DHS did not immediately respond to an email asking why the dinner had not been designated a National Special Security Event.

First lady Melania Trump lashed out at late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel this morning, calling a recent bit he did about her husband "hateful and violent rhetoric" that's "intended to divide our country."

"People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," the first lady said in a statement. "A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him."

In a routine broadcast Thursday, two days before the White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting, Kimmel imagined himself as headliner at the gala.

"And of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel joked.

Kimmel was briefly off the air last fall after comments he made about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

Cole Allen’s brother notified police in Connecticut after the suspect in last night’s shooting sent family members his writings, a senior administration official told NBC News.

The official characterized the writing as displaying anti-Trump sentiment and describes his targets as administration officials, not guests or hotel employees. Allen apologizes to family and friends in his writing and says he does not expect forgiveness, according to the official.

Allen’s sister described him to law enforcement as having a tendency toward making radical comments as well as constantly referencing a plan to fix issues with the world, the official said.

She confirmed to investigators that Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun, but that her parents were unaware he was keeping the weapons inside their home, according to the official.

New video shows the tense moments after Secret Service agents wrestled the alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman to the ground.

02:11

Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of opening fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, is expected to be arraigned in federal court today.

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., previously said the suspect would be charged with two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and a second crime of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. She added that "many more charges" were expected to be filed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a press conference today at 1 p.m., she announced in a post to X.

Trump held a press conference shortly after the shooting, but this is the first non-impromptu press conference in the aftermath of the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

A senior White House official told NBC News that the White House will hold a meeting with U.S. Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security leadership “early this week” to discuss the attempted attack on Saturday and review protocols and practices for major events that include President Trump. There are several high-profile events he’s set to attend in the coming months, with large crowds. 

Patel said that FBI agents have conducted "dozens and dozens of interviews" over the weekend as they investigate the suspect.

"We conducted interviews literally across the country, in multiple jurisdictions in less than 24 hours after this tragic event, and also used FBI fixed-wing assets to transport evidence from across the country to Quantico," Patel said on "Fox and Friends" this morning.

Patel said that the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, made famous by previous investigations, would prepare a profile of the suspect.

"What that does is not necessarily provide direct evidence to be utilized in court, but it examines what we have collected so far to include emails, social media postings, witness interviews, interviews with people, family, friends and neighbors, so we can provide a complete picture of this individual's mindset and intent when we make the presentment in court," he said. "And that's what we're going through right now, and in the process of finalizing, and shortly, we'll see that presentation in court."

FBI Director Kash Patel said that he and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will hold a press conference about the Saturday incident later today.

Patel said in an interview on "Fox and Friends" that they will speak to the media after the magistrate judge signs off on the related criminal complaint, which he said will contain significant detail.

"We're going to be able to present to the world in less than 36 hours, almost exactly what happened this individual's entire background, entire background — who he knew, where he lived, who he was talking to, everything about the firearms, everything about the ballistics," Patel said.

The 31-year-old suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting, who allegedly described himself as a “friendly federal assassin,” is expected to face charges today.

Investigators say the suspect emailed a message to family, which talked about intended targets, without naming the president, but appeared to refer to him and top Cabinet officials who were in the ballroom.

02:10

A federal law enforcement official said authorities believe, based on a review of hotel security video, that the suspect used an internal hotel stairwell and not an elevator to move down several floors from his guest room toward the dinner event. 

He was detained one level above the ballroom entrance point after running through a magnetometer at a security checkpoint. 

A second federal official told NBC News that investigators are continuing to obtain and review video to establish the suspect's movements. Charges have not yet been filed.

A guest at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was seen continuing to eat even after gunshots rang out.

00:41

Trump is seizing on the incident to gin up support for a White House ballroom that has faced legal challenges that threaten to shut down the project.

Trump has made the argument that the nation needs a fortified ballroom on White House grounds so that the president and government officials are not in peril.

A federal judge has issued repeated orders blocking construction of the ballroom, holding that Trump exceeded his authority in proceeding without congressional approval. On April 17, a federal appeals court allowed construction to continue while a suit contending that the work is unlawful winds through the courts.

Now, coming off the frightening episode at the Washington Hilton, Trump’s appointees and congressional allies are stepping in to eliminate judicial roadblocks and plump for Trump’s passion project.

Read the full story here.

A former professor of Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting according to a federal official familiar with the case, said he was “shocked” to learn of the news, describing him as “soft-spoken.”

Bin Tang, a professor in the computer science department at California State University, said Allen was a strong student who regularly sat in the front row and was highly engaged in class.

Cole Thomas Allen. via Linkedin

“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, coming to my office hours, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions,” Tang told KNBC, an NBC News affiliate. 

“I am very shocked to see the news,” he added.

China said today that it condemned the shooting, in its first public comments on the incident.

“China is paying attention to this shooting incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news conference. “We consistently oppose and condemn acts of illegal violence.”

Trump said he was not concerned when gunshots rang out during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

“I wasn’t worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world,” Trump said in an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes" that aired last night.

Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday. Yuri Gripas / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Asked about the evacuation, including why Vice President JD Vance was rushed out first, Trump said he wanted to see what was going on first before being evacuated. 

“I wanted to see what was happening and I wasn’t making it that easy for them,” he said. “I wanted to see what was going on.” 

Trump said last night that the chaotic scene in which he was removed from the Hilton ballroom, at one point appearing to fall, “was a little bit me,” and that he “wasn’t making it that easy” for the agents trying to remove him from the room.

“I was surrounded by great people, and I probably made them act a little bit more slowly,” Trump said during an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”

Trump said that the agents asked him and the first lady to drop to the floor as they walked offstage. He added that his first thought when the shots rang was that he has “been through this a couple of times.”

Trump said the first lady understood what was happening before he did.

Asked if she had been scared, Trump said: “Well, I don’t want to say, and people don’t like having it said that they were scared, but certainly, I mean, who wouldn’t be when you have a situation like that?”

The California teacher and engineer accused of opening fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner believed it was his duty to target Trump administration officials, according to a note he sent family members about 10 minutes before the attack.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller helps his wife, Katie Miller, from the ballroom on Saturday. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Allen apologized to his parents, colleagues, students, bystanders and others for what he was about to do, according to a transcript of some of Allen’s writings provided to NBC News by a senior administration official.

“I don’t expect forgiveness,” Allen wrote. 

Read the full story here.

Authorities apprehended a suspect who they said exchanged gunfire with law enforcement after he rushed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

He was identified as a 31-year-old man from Southern California.

Trump and top members of his Cabinet and Congress were quickly evacuated from the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where the annual event was being held.

Here's what we know.