Overview
- Cole Tomas Allen breached security at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, fired shots, was tackled and arrested, and a law enforcement agent was shot but not seriously hurt as attendees, including President Trump, were evacuated.
- Officials said Allen considered himself a member of a group calling itself The Wide Awakes, though his actual affiliation has not been verified.
- Amplifier, which helped create artwork for the modern Wide Awakes project in 2020, said it had never heard of Allen and reported no link, and a Wide Awakes spokesperson told the Daily Caller the group sees no connection to him.
- Allen faces charges that include using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer, and investigators are probing his motive and any network ties after reports that he sent an anti‑Trump message to family and joined recent “No Kings” protests.
- The name Wide Awakes traces to an 1860 pro‑Lincoln youth movement, while the 2020-era version describes itself as an open, nonviolent, art-driven network that invites decentralized participation.