President Trump faced a third assassination attempt in two years Saturday night, and the level of security at the event is being questioned.
The gunman opened fire outside the banquet area of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington. In his online manifesto released before the attack, the suspect referred to himself as the “friendly federal assassin.” He also mocked the Secret Service for what he called “incompetence.”
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, describes himself in his LinkedIn profile as a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, computer game developer and teacher, who once interned at NASA and was once named “teacher of the month.”
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Allen had checked into the hotel as a guest before the event, bringing his weapons with him.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Allen, while a student at Caltech, was active in the Christian Fellowship there. He reportedly attended services at churches in Pasadena and Torrance.
In his 1,000-word manifesto, Allen writes, “Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes. … I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”
Allen also mocked what he believed was lax security at the dinner, writing in his manifesto, “What … is the Secret Service doing? … No … security. Not in transport. Not in the hotel. Not in the event. This level of incompetence is insane.”
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