Grievance Propelled Gala Attack Suspect Across Country, Authorities Say

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April 27, 2026, 5:43 a.m. ET

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Grievance Propelled Gala Attack Suspect Across Country, Authorities Say

A man who has worked as a tutor and graduated from the California Institute of Technology is being held by authorities in connection with the armed attack at the White House correspondents’ dinner.

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Investigators worked outside the California home of a man who is being held in connection to an attack at the White House correspondents’ dinner.

Credit...

Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press

By

Amy Qin

Chelsia Rose Marcius

and

Shawn Hubler

Amy Qin reported from Washington, Chelsia Rose Marcius from New York and Shawn Hubler from Los Angeles.

April 27, 2026,

5:04 a.m. ET

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Before he embarked on a cross-country journey, Cole Tomas Allen offered the people in his life a series of explanations for his absence, according to writings that the authorities say he left behind.

He had a personal emergency, he told his colleagues and the students he was tutoring. He told his parents simply that he had an interview.

But Mr. Allen appears to have had a much different and much darker plan when he set out on a train from California to Washington, according to two senior law enforcement officials who say he is now in custody, accused of charging through security outside the White House Correspondents’ dinner and opening fire.

Now, those who knew Mr. Allen are struggling to reconcile the man they knew with the shocking act of political violence that he has been accused of perpetrating.

The suspect, who the authorities have not publicly named but who was

identified by the two officials

as Mr. Allen 31, of Torrance, Calif., is expected to be charged with multiple crimes in a court appearance on Monday.

The writing the authorities attributed to Mr. Allen bounced between remorse for the deception of friends and family and gratitude for a lifetime of love and support. In it, he displayed outrage at the policies put in place by the White House, and alluded to allegations of sexual misconduct, saying that he is “no longer willing” to allow a “traitor to coat my hands with his crimes” — an apparent reference to President Trump, though the writing does not mention him by name.

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