A 31-year-old Californian part-time teacher arrived at one of Washington's most high-profile annual events with a shotgun, a handgun, several knives, and a 1,052-word plan to kill the President of the United States.
Cole Tomas Allen sent a manifesto to his family moments before he exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Within that document lay a detail that has since consumed federal investigators: among the full roster of Trump administration officials Allen allegedly marked for death, one name was deliberately absent.
In the document, Allen referred to himself as 'Cole "coldForce" "Friendly Federal Assassin" Allen' and outlined his plan to kill Donald Trump and his top administration officials, with the notable exception ofFBI Director Kash Patel.
The manifesto was described as 'specific' by a source familiar with the investigation, with targeted officials ranked by priority. The precise line, 'Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest', has become the focal point of the motive investigation. No explanation for the exemption was offered in the document.
Patel said investigators were examining ballistics evidence, including a long gun and shell casings, and conducting interviews, encouraging anyone with information to contact the FBI. He was present at the Washington Hilton that night and appeared alongside President Trump at a subsequent White House press briefing.
NEW: Cole Allen wrote a manifesto saying he was targeting Trump officials:"I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."pic.twitter.com/kYiSz49fIn
Allen's brother alerted the New London Police Department in Connecticut after Allen sent the manifesto to family members minutes before the incident, but the warning reached law enforcement too late to prevent the attack.
In the 1,052-word document, Allen wrote to his family that as a 'citizen of the United States of America' he was 'no longer willing' to remain passive in the face of what he described as abuses by the administration. He framed his intended violence in stark moral terms, writing, 'Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behaviour; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes.'
Allen also sent a note apologising to his parents and colleagues for what he was about to do, writing that he did not expect forgiveness, according to a transcript provided to NBC News by a senior administration official. Handwritten notes were also found inside the hotel and are believed to have been left intentionally for law enforcement to find, according to multiple sources.
By outward appearances,Cole Tomas Allenwas unremarkable, even accomplished. Allen earned a degree in mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology in 2017, before completing a master's in computer science at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2025. Caltech confirmed his graduation to multiple outlets but offered no further comment.
Source: International Business Times UK
