Shooting at White House Correspondents' Dinner Draws Historical Comparisons to Past Political Violence

A shooting took place at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2026. Robert F. , the secretary of health and human services, was chatting with guests when shots were fired.

Security agents shielded him and escorted him out through service corridors. President Trump was also rushed out of the event following the shots. The alleged shooter, Cole Tomas Allen, traveled across the country by train. Court documents indicate Allen's involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate President Trump and other cabinet members.

The incident recalled the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after a victory speech. Historians have compared the event to periods of political violence in the late 1960s and 1970s, which included assassinations and bombings.

Steven Hahn, a New York University history professor and author of 'Illiberal America,' stated that violence and politics have been central to the American experience since the republic's founding. He noted similarities between the current period and the 1960s and 1970s, marked by political divides and loss of faith in institutions.

Julian Zelizer, a Princeton historian and co-author of 'Fault Lines,' said that throughout American history, periods of high tension have led to bursts of violence against political leaders. He added that the United States experienced such a period from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s and is going through one today.

In the 1960s and 1970s, notable events included the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, followed by the killings of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy. Between 1970 and 1971, there were approximately 2,500 bombings by groups such as the Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army.

The Symbionese Liberation Army was known for kidnapping newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. From 1968 to 1972, more than 100 skyjackings occurred, carried out by groups including the Black Liberation Army and Puerto Rican nationalist groups. In 1975, there were two attempts on President Gerald Ford's life.

Lynette Fromme pointed a gun at Ford in Sacramento on September 5, 1975, but it failed to discharge. Three weeks later, Sarah Jane Moore fired a shot at Ford in San Francisco, which missed.

Historians noted differences, including a greater scale of violence in the earlier period with involvement of militant groups. Zelizer stated that in the 1970s, many elected officials pushed against divisions and appealed to broad majorities. Today, acts of political violence often involve individuals not belonging to organized groups but tied to online movements.

Zelizer said that violence is almost expected in the current polarized era. President Trump has been the target of three would-be assassins, according to reports.