US President Donald Trump on Sunday alleged “strong anti-Christian” motive behind the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, citing early assessments and the suspect’s alleged manifesto.
"He had a lot of hatred in his heart for quite a while, and he just, I don't know. He just, it was a religious thing. It was strongly anti, anti-Christian," Trump told TV channels.
He said the suspect—identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California—was a "pretty sick guy" who had been flagged to law enforcement by family members.
“The guy is a sick guy, when you read his manifesto. He hates Christians, that's one thing for sure... and I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. They were even complaining to law enforcement. He was a very troubled guy,” the president said.
According to a Reuters report, Allen in his manifesto called himself the "Friendly Federal Assassin" and said he planned to attack Trump administration officials, prioritising them from highest-ranking to lowest. He, however, has notably excluded FBI Director Kash Patel.
Allen was arrested at the scene, but the chaotic events raised fresh questions about the security of top US officials.
During an interview with the CBS News, Trump was seen visibly frustrated when the interviewer read the suspect’s manifesto to him. The document had reportedly accused the administration officials of being “paedophiles, rapists and traitors”.
"I read the manifesto. You know, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself for reading that because I'm not any of those things,” Trump told the reporter.
"You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all the stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, lets say, Epstein or other things," the president said.
The shooting disrupted the high-profile event attended by senior political leaders, journalists, and officials, including Vice President J. D. Vance and First Lady Melania Trump. One security officer was injured during the incident.
