Topline
The emerging portrait of the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner moments after sending a manifesto railing against the Trump administration, 31-year-old California math tutor Cole Tomas Allen, is of a high-performing academic “on the nicer, quiet side.”
President Donald Trump posted this photo of shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen on Truth Social.
Truth Social
Key Facts
Allen, who is expected to make a first appearance in federal court Monday, is accused of firing shots while trying to charge past a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, where President Donald Trump and much of his presidential Cabinet were attending a dinner with journalists.
A California Institute of Technology classmate of Allen’s, Adrian Costantino, told the Wall Street Journal he was “a little autistic” and “even more nerdy” than his peers, but remembered him as “always nice and kind to people.”
A pastor at the church he attended while in school, the United Reformed Church in Pasadena, told the Journal those at the parish are “as confused as everyone else,” adding, “It’s one of those classic cases where everything we knew about him was he was a great guy.”
Another member of the congregation said he was “flabbergasted” to learn Allen was connected to the attack: “The talent he had, he probably could have lived a full, enjoyable, healthy life and done wondrous things for himself and other people, and he blew it.”
Students Allen tutored in biology, math and science were “completely shocked” to hear about his arrest and thought he was “on the nicer, quiet side,” one source told the Los Angeles Times, with one of his students adding Allen was “a completely average guy,” while a neighbor of the Torrence home, where he lived with his parents, called them “very nice” and “peaceful” people: “They don’t make any noise and when they see you they say hi,” the neighbor told the LA Times.
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What Are ‘the Wide Awakes?’
Allen’s sister told law enforcement he is a member of a group called The Wide Awakes, an organization that takes its name from a political movement dedicated to electing President Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election. Artist Hank Willis Thomas launched a modern Wide Awakes network in 2020 with a march down Broadway in New York City and, the same year, related imagery was featured in an Alicia Keys performance to open the 2020 season of the NFL according to the New York Times. Thomas describes the group as “a network of thousands of artists, cultural workers, and activists driven by the most urgent social and political issues of our time.”
What Else Do We Know About Allen?
Allen graduated from Caltech, where he was a member of the school’s Christian fellowship and the Nerf club, in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile. He described himself on the social media site as a game developer, engineer, scientist and teacher. Allen went on to earn a master’s degree in computer science at Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported, and has been working at C2 Education, a college test preparation and tutoring service. Allen is also the creator on Steam of a game called “Bohrdom” described as a “skill-based, non-violent asymmetrical fighting game.” Allen is registered to vote but is not registered as a Democrat or a Republican, and his only political donation on record is a 2024 $25 gift to ActBlue, a political fundraising platform, earmarked for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Allen reportedly lived with his parents in a middle-class neighborhood and his father, Thomas Allen, is an elder at Grace United Reformed Church Torrance, according to the Washington Post.
Cole Tomas Allen Charged With Attempted Assassination
Allen was charged in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Monday. He faces charges of attempting to assassinate the president of the United States (which carries a sentence of up to life in prison), transporting a firearm across state lines and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
What Happened At The White House Correspondents’ Dinner?
It was “just minutes” into the event that attendees heard “muffled popping sounds” as Allen, armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, tried to run past security, according to NPR reporters at the scene. Secret Service agents ushered Trump, Vice President JD Vance and First Lady Melania Trump off stage, where they were sitting for the meal, and “dozens and dozens” of security agents rushed into the hotel ballroom and began escorting high-ranking officials out of the room. Later that night, Trump posted a photo of Allen being apprehended. Hours after the attack, police in New London, Connecticut, where Allen’s brother lives, were contacted by someone who expressed concern about Allen’s potential role in the incident.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, First Lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump and CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on April 25, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
What Did Cole Tomas Allen’s Alleged Manifesto Say?
Allen sent the alleged manifesto to family members minutes before the attack, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press, in which he referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and reportedly railed against Trump and his administration, writing: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” Blanche Told Nbc That Alllen “set Out To Target Folks Who Work In The Administration, Likely Including The President,” While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Tweeted Sunday That Allen Was A “depraved Crazy Person Who Sought To Assassinate The President And Kill As Many Top Trump Administration Officials As Possible.” Allen, Who Reportedly Checked Into The Washington Hilton One Night Before The Dinner, Allegedly Wrote That He Was Surprised He Was Able To “walk In With Multiple Weapons And Not A Single Person There Considers The Possibility That I Could Be A Threat,” Accusing The Secret Service Of “incompetence.”