What to Make of WHCD Attacker Cole Tomas Allen's Manifesto

Cole Tomas Allen's alleged manifesto was released after he reportedly opened fire at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday. 

Allen's Manifesto: "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." Allen went on to say that he was "no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes." He listed his targets as "administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel)... prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest," Secret Service "only if necessary," and the National Guard, hotel security, and Capitol Police "[only if] they shoot at me." Allen signed the manifesto, "Cole 'coldForce' 'Friendly Federal Assassin' Allen." He added, "PS: Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing?... I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat."

Anti-Christian or Motivated by Faith?: CBS News (Lean Left), among other outlets, noted reports that Allen posted anti-Trump and anti-Christian content on social media. Rebutting this narrative, Ken Klippenstein (Lean Left bias) said the manifesto "works through Gospel passages one by one like someone who had spent real time with the Bible," and that a former classmate of Allen's told him "[Allen] was pretty prominent at the CalTech Christian Fellowship."

How The Left Covered It: News media across the political spectrum reported on Allen's $25 donation to ActBlue in support of Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in 2024, as well as his ties to both the No Kings and Wide Awakes movements. CNN (Lean Left bias) reported that Allen's sister said he "had a tendency to make radical statements as he became involved in left-wing activism"; CBS also reported the comment and included that senior officials said he "clearly stated he wanted to target officials in the Trump administration." However, Time Magazine (Lean Left) highlighted, "Allen is registered to vote with no party preference." 

Some outlets on the left, more often than the center and right, gave voice to individuals who knew and admired Allen prior to the shooting. CBS quoted one of his former professors, who called him "a very good student… soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow." NPR (Lean Left) similarly gave voice to one of his students who said, "You wouldn't expect him to be plotting some crazy, evil plan to kill the president… He was just quirky because he was [just a] really smart guy."

How The Center Covered It: Coverage from the center ranged from soft to speculative. The Hill (Center) said the "suspected shooter" was "likely targeting President Trump," and NewsNation (Center) similarly said officials "preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner." Both outlets focused on the general calamity of the event, with NewsNation saying the manifesto "moved between confession, grievance and farewell, with Allen thanking people in his life even as he sought to explain the attack." The Hill emphasized the three prior assassination attempts on Trump. 

Newsweek (Center) published an analysis specifically on Allen's link to The Wide Awakes – a formerly conservative organization established in 1860 that was relaunched by the political left in 2020. The outlet said Wide Awakes "frame their work around progressive social justice causes" but described them as "explicitly non-violent."

How The Right Covered It: News media on the right were the most matter-of-fact about Allen's motivations against Trump and his administration. New York Post (Lean Right) said the manifesto "reveal[ed] he was hell-bent on killing Trump administration officials." The outlet emphasized his sister's comment about Allen's "politically radical remarks and [plans to do] 'something' to fix the world's issues." Fox News (Right) remarked that he "went from designing first-person shooter games to becoming an alleged shooter himself." And while outlets on the left often framed his $25 donation as a contribution to ActBlue, Fox framed it as a donation specifically to Harris. 

The Daily Wire (Right) turned criticism toward Allen's sister, Avriana F. Allen, reporting that she "worked at leftist journalism outlets," including CalMatters, Pew Research Center, and The Texas Tribune. While AllSides does rate The Texas Tribune as Lean Left, it rates both CalMatters and Pew Research as Center. 

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