Suspect in White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Charged, Denies Links to Activist Group

Authorities identified Cole Allen, a California-based tutor and Caltech graduate, as the suspect in a Saturday night shooting inside the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, where he allegedly attempted to target President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Law enforcement stated that Allen was armed and opened fire inside the venue before Secret Service personnel subdued him. Prosecutors charged Allen with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

Officials said Allen professed to be part of a progressive collective known as The Wide Awakes. A spokesperson for The Wide Awakes denied any affiliation with Allen. The Wide Awakes rejected connections to Allen in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

' The Wide Awakes suggested Allen may have been mistakenly associated with a separate protest event in February. ' A February anti-ICE demonstration occurred in Wisconsin and used similar branding to The Wide Awakes but was not formally connected to the group. The Wide Awakes describes itself as a decentralized creative activist collective.

The modern Wide Awakes was revived in 2020 by artists and activists. Posts on The Wide Awakes’ Instagram account include anti-ICE messaging and calls to defund the agency. Posts on The Wide Awakes’ Instagram account include expressions of support for 'Indian land' causes and Black Lives Matter.

The FBI is leading the investigation into Allen’s alleged actions and motivations out of its Los Angeles field office. ' New York Post reported these details from law enforcement and group statements.