DC-Shooting at White House Correspondents Dinner, April 25, 2026

[NuttMegg]

Whatever my personal opinion of RFK Jr., it is not lost on me that his father was shot to death in a hotel kitchen, and I’m sure he thought about that, as well.

All this time later and still such similar violence.

The shooter also reminds me a bit of the MGM Hotel Vegas shooter, just because he was a hotel guest as well.

I’ve never had my luggage checked as a hotel guest, and apparently it’s easy to reserve a room, have your murder weapons in your suitcase, and as a guest maybe you’re just not scrutinized too much.

HOWEVER——unlike the Vegas shooter, here you have the whole government line of succession in one room. No designated survivor as with the State of the Union.

There really should have been extra extra extra procedures in place, though thank God he did not ultimately get near his targets.

But too close for comfort. I do admire and praise the Secret Service and their bravery and training, but that hotel for an occasion like this has exposed the inherent deficiencies.

JMO

It's frivolous, careless, thoughtless, imo, to have so many of the succession in one ultra publicized event in a hotel, during war time, no less...to hear roasting jokes and hobnob with media stars.

Trump, Vance, Johnson, Grassley, Rubio (Haven't seen evidence of Grassley there, but he's 92). The State of the Union is held in a bldg continually protected and is a serious event.

 

[Arkay]

Years ago, during the Obama administration, I was on a crosstown bus in Manhattan on the way to a doctor’s appointment.

Suddenly the bus and ALL the traffic on a jammed Midtown Manhattan major artery came to a sudden stop.

It emerged that Obama and Michelle were heading to a Broadway play. Therefore we were all stuck in the “Frozen Zone.”

I wanted to get off the bus and walk to my appointment, but no one was allowed off the bus until the Obamas were at their destination.

This is why I simply CANNOT understand why any outsider was even allowed to book a room at the Hilton on the evening of this event.

The Obamas were a block or two away from us, in the fortified presidential limo, just them and not the entirety of government officials, and no one could get near.

HERE we have the president, his wife, and all the Cabinet, plus the upper crust of journalists, and this maniac got to within a door of all of them.

Again I praise the Secret Service for their bravery and ultimate success here, but to me it is simply UNFATHOMABLE that any outsider guest was permitted to be in that hotel on this particular evening.


When I was tiny, I think three years old, my dad took us to see JFK and his convoy as they passed my apartment a block away on the FDR Drive (then called the East River Drive), but from what we can recall, we had to stay away from the highway itself. And obviously this was while JFK was alive and security was likely more complacent then.


JMO and experience.

 

[mickey2942]

Is this the 2nd assassination attempt on President Trump? I don't believe any other United States President has had, and survived 2 assassination attempts.

 

[Dotta]

"Cole Allen’s manifesto in full"​

https://twitter.com/x/status/2048427109714977048

 

[Gemmie]

Is this the 2nd assassination attempt on President Trump? I don't believe any other United States President has had, and survived 2 assassination attempts.

Wasn't there 3? The one that clipped his ear and the dude that hid in trees on the other side of his golf course. Now this one.

 

[moonglow123]

Years ago, during the Obama administration, I was on a crosstown bus in Manhattan on the way to a doctor’s appointment.

Suddenly the bus and ALL the traffic on a jammed Midtown Manhattan major artery came to a sudden stop.

It emerged that Obama and Michelle were heading to a Broadway play. Therefore we were all stuck in the “Frozen Zone.”

I wanted to get off the bus and walk to my appointment, but no one was allowed off the bus until the Obamas were at their destination.

This is why I simply CANNOT understand why any outsider was even allowed to book a room at the Hilton on the evening of this event.

The Obamas were a block or two away from us, in the fortified presidential limo, just them and not the entirety of government officials, and no one could get near.

HERE we have the president, his wife, and all the Cabinet, plus the upper crust of journalists, and this maniac got to within a door of all of them.

Again I praise the Secret Service for their bravery and ultimate success here, but to me it is simply UNFATHOMABLE that any outsider guest was permitted to be in that hotel on this particular evening.


When I was tiny, my dad took us to see JFK and his convoy as they passed my apartment a block away on the FDR Drive (then called the East River Drive), but from what we can recall, we had to stay away from the highway itself. And obviously this was while JFK was alive and security was likely more complacent then.


JMO and experience.

I had a similar experience once. Biden was passing in his motorcade. I was on a walkway by a ferry junction and needed to cross the street. They did not allow any of us to cross the street for 45 minutes as we watched this massive motorcade cross! We were not allowed to even get close to the street either, the cops put up a temporary barrier. People were getting very annoyed, lol.

It is very shocking to me that this young man could make it inside at all. I am glad no one was hurt but this really should not have been able to happen at all. Someone being able to just sprint into the hotel where all of our leaders are and nearly make it to the lobby is a big security failure. As others are mentioning it could have been much worse and I hope they rethink security protocols after this.

 

[knla]

How did Cole Tomas Allen know what the Hilton security weakness would be before he traveled all that way?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Before the attack, Allen sent family members a note apologizing to his parents, colleagues and others for what he was about to do — but wrote that he did not expect forgiveness, according to a transcript of some of Allen’s writings provided to NBC News by a senior administration official.

In the note, Allen criticized Trump without mentioning him by name and said he did not intend to target guests and hotel employees. He also wrote about lax security at the hotel, saying he had expected more.
[

A photograph shared on President Donald Trump's Truth Social account of the suspect who was apprehended during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington on Saturday.

Suspect in White House Correspondents’ dinner shooting wrote of targeting Trump administration

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is accused of rushing a security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, and exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Sundog]

Years ago, during the Obama administration, I was on a crosstown bus in Manhattan on the way to a doctor’s appointment.

Suddenly the bus and ALL the traffic on a jammed Midtown Manhattan major artery came to a sudden stop.

It emerged that Obama and Michelle were heading to a Broadway play. Therefore we were all stuck in the “Frozen Zone.”

I wanted to get off the bus and walk to my appointment, but no one was allowed off the bus until the Obamas were at their destination.

This is why I simply CANNOT understand why any outsider was even allowed to book a room at the Hilton on the evening of this event.

The Obamas were a block or two away from us, in the fortified presidential limo, just them and not the entirety of government officials, and no one could get near.

HERE we have the president, his wife, and all the Cabinet, plus the upper crust of journalists, and this maniac got to within a door of all of them.

Again I praise the Secret Service for their bravery and ultimate success here, but to me it is simply UNFATHOMABLE that any outsider guest was permitted to be in that hotel on this particular evening.


When I was tiny, my dad took us to see JFK and his convoy as they passed my apartment a block away on the FDR Drive (then called the East River Drive), but from what we can recall, we had to stay away from the highway itself. And obviously this was while JFK was alive and security was likely more complacent then.


JMO and experience.

From what I've read in the MSM, the security for traffic was very strong, you couldn't drive near the hotel and roads were blocked for some distance from the hotel. Guests had to walk a considerable distance to get to the hotel entrance. IMO, it seems that where the security may have broken down was the actual vetting of the hotel guests who were already staying at the hotel. Could the guests have been vetted, a review of the guests' check-in information and looking for any possible red flags? Lone males of a certain age, etc.? I am sure the hotel couldn't close down to guests for several days before the dinner, or even a week before. I know that when we have had sitting presidents visiting our campuses, we have not cancelled other events on campus that lead up to the presidential visits, nor have undertaken searches in the residence halls. Secret Service sets up their perimeter in advance, etc.

I do wonder if hotels have changed any of their protocols related to guests and weapons being brought into the hotel since the Las Vegas shootings by a guest.

In any event, the would-be assassin in this case got way too close to the stairs leading down to the room where the dinner was being held. I guess Secret Service and LE could have shot and killed him if he got any closer, but it still seems too close to me - and to many media commentators who are discussing the case.

jmo

 

[knla]

Order of presidential succession | USAGov

Learn about the presidential line of succesion. See the order of government officials to take over if the president cannot carry out the duties of the office.

www.usa.gov

What determines the presidential order of succession​

The U.S. Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 outline the presidential line of succession. The line of succession of cabinet officers is in the order of their agencies’ creation.

1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House
3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense
7. Attorney General
8. Secretary of the Interior
9. Secretary of Agriculture
10. Secretary of Commerce
11. Secretary of Labor
12. Secretary of Health and Human Services
13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14. Secretary of Transportation
15. Secretary of Energy
16. Secretary of Education
17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
18. Secretary of Homeland Security

 

[Gemmie]

It looks like a security flaw. From the link:

A volunteer told The Post that they saw him assemble a long weapon “in [an] unsecured room” before making a mad dash towards the ballroom.

The witness, Helen Mabus, a volunteer working the event who said she is from Harrisburg, Pa., described a “makeshift room” near the entrance where bar carts were being stored and where “there was no security” at the time.

“He was in that room […] he grabbed it out of a bag or something,” Mabus said, adding that the weapon “was long” and “didn’t look like a typical gun.”

Speaking of a security flaw.... Straight from CA's manifesto (BBM):

PS: Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing? Sorry, gonna rant a bit here and drop the formal tone.

Like, I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo.

What I got (who knows, maybe they’re pranking me!) is nothing.

No damn security.

Not in transport.

Not in the hotel.

Not in the event.

Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance.

I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.

The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals, because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before.

Like, this level of incompetence is insane, and I very sincerely hope it’s corrected by the time this country gets actually competent leadership again.

Like, if I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here and no one would have noticed .

Actually insane.

Exclusive | Read White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman Cole Allen’s full anti-Trump manifesto

In the 1,052-word missive obtained by The Post Sunday morning outlined Allen’s “rules of engagement” for the shooting and stated he believed it was his righteous duty to target ad…

nypost.com

 

[Lebowski]

Years ago, during the Obama administration, I was on a crosstown bus in Manhattan on the way to a doctor’s appointment.

Suddenly the bus and ALL the traffic on a jammed Midtown Manhattan major artery came to a sudden stop.

It emerged that Obama and Michelle were heading to a Broadway play. Therefore we were all stuck in the “Frozen Zone.”

I wanted to get off the bus and walk to my appointment, but no one was allowed off the bus until the Obamas were at their destination.

This is why I simply CANNOT understand why any outsider was even allowed to book a room at the Hilton on the evening of this event.

The Obamas were a block or two away from us, in the fortified presidential limo, just them and not the entirety of government officials, and no one could get near.

HERE we have the president, his wife, and all the Cabinet, plus the upper crust of journalists, and this maniac got to within a door of all of them.

Again I praise the Secret Service for their bravery and ultimate success here, but to me it is simply UNFATHOMABLE that any outsider guest was permitted to be in that hotel on this particular evening.


When I was tiny, I think three years old, my dad took us to see JFK and his convoy as they passed my apartment a block away on the FDR Drive (then called the East River Drive), but from what we can recall, we had to stay away from the highway itself. And obviously this was while JFK was alive and security was likely more complacent then.


JMO and experience.

if you ever live in parts of DC or arlington, this kind of thing happens all the time. even people like the VP or foreign heads of state make a pretty impressive and abrupt disruption as their bubble of security passes through. local police go first and shut down cross streets, etc. and even when no one's moving, things are tight. i've known people with offices near the white house who the secret service had asked for a heads-up if they wanted to open their blinds during public events.

i agree. it's insane that this guy got into the hotel.

 

[Yellowbelly]

How did Cole Tomas Allen know what the Hilton security weakness would be before he traveled all that way?

Reading his manifesto, he didn't, and he was shocked by how weak they were when he got there.

 

[Sundog]

Wasn't there 3? The one that clipped his ear and the dude that hid in trees on the other side of his golf course. Now this one.

Yes, this is the third assassination attempt of the President.

The first would-be assassin was taken out by a Secret Service sniper after shots were fired, and one person in the audience was killed and two were critically injured but survived.

The second would be assassin is now serving a life sentence in federal prison. I assume this guy will receive the same sentence (life in prison) following his trial if he pleads not guilty but is found guilty.

 

[NuttMegg]

How did Cole Tomas Allen know what the Hilton security weakness would be before he traveled all that way?

I think he sent the note to his relatives over email. Thus he had already been there for x days.

 

[Lebowski]

Is this the 2nd assassination attempt on President Trump? I don't believe any other United States President has had, and survived 2 assassination attempts.

there were two on Ford in under a month

edit: depending on what you call an "attempt", plenty of presidents have had more than 3. that includes aborted plans and unserious attempts that failed badly or were disrupted in advance.

 

[knla]

Presidential Succession: How the 'Designated Survivor' Fits In | HISTORY

It's a protocol in which little-known cabinet secretaries suddenly find themselves babysitting the nuclear codes.

www.history.com

Since the 1960's the president picks a designated survivor when he and all the people in line for the presidency are gathered in the same place. Usually it is a cabinet member.

 

[Gemmie]

I think he sent the note to his relatives over email. Thus he had already been there for x days.

That is my opinion too that it was sent over email as his manifesto reads like he wrote it beforehand, then added a PS once he actually got down there.

PS: Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing? Sorry, gonna rant a bit here and drop the formal tone.

Like, I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo. [snip]

SOURCE

 

[Blurgle]

Order of presidential succession | USAGov

Learn about the presidential line of succesion. See the order of government officials to take over if the president cannot carry out the duties of the office.

www.usa.gov

What determines the presidential order of succession​

The U.S. Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 outline the presidential line of succession. The line of succession of cabinet officers is in the order of their agencies’ creation.

1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House
3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense
7. Attorney General
8. Secretary of the Interior
9. Secretary of Agriculture
10. Secretary of Commerce
11. Secretary of Labor
12. Secretary of Health and Human Services
13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14. Secretary of Transportation
15. Secretary of Energy
16. Secretary of Education
17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
18. Secretary of Homeland Security

Keeping in mind that any one on the list who wasn't born a US citizen is passed over. I don't think anyone in this administration is an immigrant, but there have been immigrants in the US Cabinet in the past: Kissinger, Albright, Brzezinski IIRC, etc.

 

[shotgun09]

Impressive verbiage coming from the manifesto so far released.

Like, I'm so impressed ! Like, Cal Tech must be proud!



imo