Topline
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators believe an armed man who tried to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was trying to target officials of the Trump administration, although he also told “Meet the Press” that analysis was “preliminary” while investigators continue to investigate the incident.
A photo President Donald Trump posted of the suspected gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Donald Trump/Truth Social
Key Facts
The suspected gunman who tried to enter the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night was identified by multiple outlets as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, citing law enforcement sources.
The suspect traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago, then Chicago to Washington, D.C., by train, Blanche said on Sunday morning, and investigators believe he was staying in the same hotel the dinner was taking place at.
Blanche said investigators were speaking with witnesses who know the suspect and were looking at “some writings,” but later said at the present moment, investigators have found no connection to any “policy, directive of president Trump, or Iran, or anything else that we’re doing in this country, but we’re looking into it.”
However, Blanche did say the Justice Department believes the suspect “set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” but also said he didn’t want to “get ahead” of the ongoing investigation.
The acting attorney general said he expected the suspect would be charged tomorrow morning, likely with at least assault of a federal officer and discharging a firearm during that assault.