Family members of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter had alerted the police regarding anti-Trump, anti-Christian rhetoric shared on the suspect’s social media accounts prior to the attempted attack, according to a CBS News report on Sunday.
California resident Cole Tomas Allen was identified as the suspected perpetrator of the shooting by law enforcement and was taken into custody shortly after the incident.
According to the report, 31-year-old Allen had previously shared writings with family members, leading one relative to alert law enforcement regarding their contents.
Suspect called himself 'Friendly Federal Assassin,' mocked security efforts
A law enforcement official told Reuters that Allen had written an anti-Christian manifesto, in which he called himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin.”
"Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes," the manifesto read, according to the official.
The manifesto included a list of targets, Trump administration officials, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest, the official said.
The manifesto mocked the “insane” lack of security at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was held, the official added.
"Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance," the manifesto's author reportedly wrote. "I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.”
Family members of Allen’s who were interviewed by investigators after the attack stated that Allen frequently made radical statements, referencing a vague plan to do "something" to fix issues in the world.
Allen’s family also told law enforcement that he frequently trained with firearms at a local shooting range.
Additional writings were found in the hotel room Allen was staying at when he carried out the attack. Three federal law enforcement officials told CBS that the handwritten materials were being looked at as part of the investigation into Allen’s motive for the shooting.
One official added that Allen had attended anti-Trump “No Kings” protests in California.
Additional writings were found in the hotel room Allen was staying at when he carried out the attack. Three federal law enforcement officials told CBS that the handwritten materials were being looked at as part of the investigation into Allen’s motive for the shooting.
Trump shares hope that event will be rescheduled
US President Donald Trump, the suspected target of the attempted attack, confirmed to Fox News that Allen had left behind a manifesto.
“He hates Christians. That's one thing for sure,” Trump claimed of Allen. “So he was a very troubled guy… And I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. They were even complaining to law enforcement.”
“We can't let these criminals and these really bad people change the course of events in our country,” he asserted, adding that he hopes the Correspondents’ Dinner can be rescheduled within the next 30 days.
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Allen will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in an attempt to kill a federal officer.