The White House on Sunday shared new details about Cole Allen, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect, and what his family members have told investigators since the incident.
Allen’s brother had notified New London Police Department in Connecticut that Allen had sent family members an alleged before the shooting at the Washington Hilton hotel, the White House said.
The alleged written manifesto clearly stated he wanted to target administration officials, according to the White House, and Allen also had anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on his social media accounts.
President Donald Trump told Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing” that the alleged manifesto shows “he hates Christians.”
“The guy is a sick guy,” Trump said. “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians. That’s one thing for sure. He hates Christians, a hatred. And I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. You know, they were even complaining to law enforcement. So he was, he was a very troubled guy.”
Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told Secret Service and Montgomery County Police during an interview at her home in Rockville, Md, that her brother has made radical statements and used rhetoric that constantly referenced a plan to do “something” to fix the issues with today’s world, according to the White House.
She also confirmed that Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms and kept them stored at their parent’s home, noting that their parents were unaware of the weapons being kept at their home.
Avriana Allen said that her brother would regularly go to the shooting range to train with his firearms, adding that he was a member of a group called “The Wide Awakes” and that he had attended a “No Kings” protest in California at some point.