WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of opening fire at the White House correspondents’ dinner sent a letter to family members minutes before the shooting that referred to himself as a “friendly federal killer,” according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation, a move that ran counter to Trump administration policies and signaled what investigators are increasingly considering a politically motivated attack.The articles, sent shortly before the Washington Hilton shootings, repeatedly referenced President Trump without directly naming him and cited complaints about a number of administration actions and recent events, including U.S. attacks on drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific, the official said.
How did the shooting happen?
Investigators are treating the writings, as well as social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence yet of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives. President Trump told Fox News that the suspect was “a sick man” who had an anti-Christian manifesto and “he has a lot of hatred in his heart”. Authorities also uncovered what officials described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to the suspect, a California man, Cole Thomas Allen. According to the officer, Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut after finding the article. A police spokesperson said they contacted federal law enforcement after receiving the information.According to the official, federal agents have also interviewed Allen’s sister in Maryland, who told investigators that her brother had purchased several weapons legally from a California gun store and stored them at his parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge. He described his brother as making radical statements, the officer said. The official and another law enforcement official told the AP that Allen legally purchased a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun two years later.Authorities are still trying to determine how specific Allen’s alleged targets were. Officials have said investigators are examining whether their complaints were focused on Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance individually or reflected broader hostility toward the administration. The suspect was expected to face criminal charges Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader Todd Blanch said the suspect had traveled by train from California and had checked in days earlier as a guest at the hotel where Saturday night’s gala dinner was held.Social media posts matching the suspect reveal that he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer. Allen’s May 2025 profile picture appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted by Trump on Saturday. The photo posted on LinkedIn shows her in a cap and gown after earning a master’s degree in computer science from California State University. Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017. He listed there his involvement in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that fought with Nerf guns.
