Trump says WHCA dinner shooting was a ‘religious thing’

Administration Trump says WHCA dinner shooting was a ‘religious thing’ Comments: by Ashleigh Fields - 04/26/26 11:48 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 04/26/26 11:48 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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President Trump on Sunday said the annual White House Correspondents Dinner shooting was spurred by a “religious thing” as investigators work to uncover additional details tied to the suspect’s motive.

Investigators have not yet released a motive for the shooting.

“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,” the president said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

Cole Allen, 31, the alleged gunman and suspect, is being investigated for firing shots at the annual gathering hosted to honor journalists and members of the White House Correspondents Association.

Allen allegedly traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to target administration officials as outlined in writings sent to his family on Saturday, according to CBS News.

Social media posts tied to the suspect show that he was previously a member of a Christian fellowship group and attended a “No Kings” protest earlier this year, per the outlet.

Campaign finance records show Allen once donated $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee to back former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid, as reported by The Associated Press.

On Sunday, Trump said, “he’s, he’s got some big problems with the rest of his life, but it’s very, very bad, very bad situation.”

Allen is currently facing two charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

He is expected to be arraigned in court on Monday.

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