Trump says suspect in Correspondents’ Dinner wrote anti-Christian manifesto
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump says suspect in Correspondents’ Dinner wrote anti-Christian manifesto")
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, shortly after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Following preliminary investigations, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect “likely was targeting the president” and added, “We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack.”
Donald Trump on Sunday (April 26) said the suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, attended by top leadership, including the US President and Vice President, had written an anti-Christian manifesto. “The guy is a sick guy,” Trump told Fox News, adding, “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians.”
“His sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. They were even complaining to law enforcement. He was a very troubled guy.”
The statement follows a security scare at the gala dinner on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, where a suspect identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, allegedly attempted to breach the security perimeter. According to law enforcement, Allen charged a magnetometer screening area outside the ballroom at approximately 8:36 pm, armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
A Secret Service agent was shot during the confrontation but survived due to a bulletproof vest. Trump and Vance were safely evacuated. Investigators said they are reviewing writings recovered from the scene to establish a motive.
Following preliminary investigations, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect “likely was targeting the president” and added, “We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack.”
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“We’re still investigating a motive, and that will take at least a couple of days,” he said in an interview with NBC, adding that the findings remain preliminary.
Addressing reporters at the White House after the incident, Trump described the attacker as a “very sick person” and said he had wanted to continue attending the event.
“It was a little different evening than we thought, but we’re going to do it again,” he said, adding that the event would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“We have to make it better. We’ll make it safer, I guess, right? But we’re going to make it even better,” Trump added.
