Former President Barack Obama insisted Sunday the “details” of the motives of an armed man who allegedly tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner were unknown, hours after a media outlet published the suspect’s manifesto.
Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, Calif., will appear in court Monday to be arraigned on charges of using a firearm in a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer. Obama’s post, at 5:15 p.m. Sunday, came nearly six hours after the New York Post published Cole’s manifesto at 11:38 a.m. EDT.
“Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents [sic] Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy,” Obama wrote. “It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day. I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay.”
Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy. It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 26, 2026
Obama did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In the manifesto sent to his family minutes before he allegedly exchanged gunfire with U.S. Secret Service agents, Allen declared his intention to target senior Trump administration officials, with the notable exception of FBI Director Kash Patel.
“And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” Allen wrote. “(Well, to be completely honest, I was no longer willing a long time ago, but this is the first real opportunity I’ve had to do something about it.)”
Allen stated that any Trump administration official, “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” would be a target of his planned rampage.
“I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to that,” Allen wrote.
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