A man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner reportedly described the US president as a 'villain' in social media posts before the attack. Cole Allen, 31, a part-time tutor and games developer from California, allegedly opened fire in the foyer of the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening, prompting the evacuation of Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other officials.
Posts on the BlueSky platform under the username 'Coldforce' have resurfaced, in which Allen called Trump a 'sociopathic mob boss' and a 'satanic idolator'. In one message, he wrote: 'Trump is literally one of those villains that if you beat his ass hard enough, he’ll join your team.' He also criticised Vance as a 'piece of s**t' for cutting Ukraine funding and condemned Trump's AI-generated image of himself as Jesus.
Allen, a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, is thought to have travelled by train from California to Chicago and then to Washington, where he checked into the hotel hosting the gala dinner. Authorities believe he acted alone. He was tackled by Secret Service staff after attempting to charge towards the ballroom, with shots fired during the struggle.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters: 'It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president.' Allen is due to appear in court in Washington later to face formal charges. Trump later wrote on Truth Social that the incident underscored the need for his proposed 'Militarily Top Secret Ballroom' at the White House.
