Assassin Wasn't on FBI's Radar, Sources Say [View all]

Leaked Cole Allen resume + former friends shed light on alleged attacker

Ken Klippenstein
Apr 26, 2026

Cole Allen was never flagged by the FBI’s sprawling domestic counterterrorism apparatus, sources including a senior FBI official tell me. The 31-year-old alleged gunman who attempted to penetrate the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday was, by all appearances, a normal guy — until he wasn’t.

Allen himself was reportedly stunned by what he called the “insane” lack of security at the Washington Hilton — a venue that has hosted the dinner for decades (and was the site of the attempt on Ronald Reagan’s life in 1981). Video shows that after the guests were seated, the Secret Service agents and DC Metropolitan Police security people were just shooting the shit as Allen ran by.

Now, rumors are already swirling that Allen is some anti-Christian zealot aided by a network of left-wing compatriots. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says the FBI is looking into whether Allen was operating alone. But who was he, exactly? And what does he represent?

The answer, drawn from a copy of his resume I obtained and interviews with people who knew him, is unsettling in its ordinariness.

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Edited to add:

Link to tweet

I am heartbroken for America, we are so deeply dysfunctional, and ill.