WASHINGTON - Cole Allen accused of carrying out an attempted attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner sent a sprawling manifesto to friends, relatives, and former students shortly before the assault, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.
Cole Allen, 31, allegedly wrote in the document: "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."
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| Hello everybody! So I may have given a lot of people a surprise today. Let me start off by apologizing to everyone whose trust I abused. I apologize to my parents for saying I had an interview without specifying it was for "Most Wanted." I apologize to my colleagues and students for saying I had a personal emergency (by the time anyone reads this, I probably most certainly DO need to go to the ER, but can hardly call that not a self-inflicted status.) I apologize to all of the people I traveled next to, all the workers who handled my luggage, and all the other non-targeted people at the hotel who I put in danger simply by being near. I apologize to everyone who was abused and/or murdered before this, to all those who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure. I don't expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other way to get this close, I would have taken it. Again, my sincere apologies. On to why I did any of this: I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes. (Well, to be completely honest, I was no longer willing a long time ago, but this is the first real opportunity I've had to do something about it.) | While I'm discussing this, I'll also go over my expected rules of engagement (probably in a terrible format, but I'm not military so too bad.) Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest Secret Service: they are targets only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible (aka, I hope they're wearing body armor because center mass with shotguns messes up people who *aren't* Hotel Security: not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me) Capitol Police: same as Hotel Security National Guard: same as Hotel Security Hotel Employees: not targets at all Guests: not targets at all In order to minimize casualties I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls) I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn't come to that. |
The line appeared to reference former President Donald Trump, whom Allen had become fixated on in recent months, officials said.
The manifesto was emailed to approximately two dozen recipients approximately two hours before Allen arrived at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the annual dinner was being held. One family member who received the document contacted police, triggering a partial lockdown and an active search for the suspect.
Allen was apprehended by Secret Service agents at a security checkpoint before he could enter the main ballroom. No attendees were injured. Allen is in federal custody facing multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer and making threats against the president.
Family members told investigators that Allen's wife, Priyanka -Allen, is an Indian-American software engineer whom he married in 2023. According to relatives, Allen had become increasingly volatile after his wife shared with him critical news coverage about Trump's foreign policy statements.
In particular, relatives said Allen was enraged by a comment Trump reportedly made during a private fundraising dinner in 2025, in which the former president allegedly referred to India as a "hell hole" while criticizing U.S. trade agreements. While the quote has not been independently verified and Trump's spokesperson has denied he made the remark, the purported statement gained traction on social media in recent months.
Investigators found that Allen had bookmarked several articles about the alleged comment and had written extensively about it in online forums.
In his manifesto, a copy of which was obtained by this news organization, Allen wrote that his wife's heritage and his own moral convictions compelled him to act.
"When the leader of the free world calls my wife's homeland a hell hole - when he brags about assaulting women, separates families, and treats the Constitution as a suggestion - silence becomes complicity," the document reads in part.
"I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes. I act not out of hate for country, but out of love for what it promised."
Family members told investigators that Allen, who previously worked as a part-time adjunct instructor at a community college in Virginia, had attended shooting ranges weekly for the past eight months.
"He would talk about wanting to 'fix things' but never gave specifics," a sibling said in an interview with the FBI, according to a source familiar with the investigation. "After he married Priyanka , something changed. He became obsessed with what Trump said about India, about immigrants, about everything."
Allen legally purchased two handguns, one of which was recovered at the scene. He was not on any federal watchlist prior to the incident.
The White House declined to comment specifically on the manifesto, though Press Secretary said in a statement: "Violence has no place in our political discourse, regardless of one's views. We condemn this attack in the strongest terms."
Representatives for former President Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the alleged "hell hole" remark or Allen's manifesto.
The investigation is ongoing.
