Federal investigators are working to understand one of the stranger details buried in Cole Thomas Allen's 1,052-word manifesto: the alleged White House Correspondents' Dinner shooter specifically exempted FBI Director Kash Patel from his target list — and investigators now have a working theory about why.
Sources told the New York Post that Patel's exclusion likely stems from Allen's stated desire to avoid targeting law enforcement. The manifesto, which laid out the 31-year-old CalTech graduate's chilling "rules of engagement" for what he planned to be a mass assassination of Trump administration officials, drew careful distinctions between targets and non-targets with calculated precision.
"Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are the targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest," Allen wrote, according to the manifesto first published in full by The Post.
The screed continued: "Secret Service: they are targets only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible. Hotel Security: not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me)."
Washington Metro police officers, National Guard troops, hotel staffers, and guests were similarly listed as non-targets or targets of last resort.
"Anything would really just be speculation, but he took the time to go through why he wasn't targeting all of the law enforcement agencies, so I think it's probably related to that," a law enforcement source told The Post. A second source was more direct: "He specifically said he didn't want to target law enforcement. That's why."
An alternative theory has also emerged among investigators. "He was pretty anti-Christian and Kash is Hindu," one source noted — a detail consistent with Trump's own characterization of the manifesto as reflecting deep, explicit hatred of Christians.
Investigators stressed they are not yet settling on a definitive explanation and are not ruling out the possibility that Allen's specific mention of Patel was a calculated attempt to "manipulate" readers — crafting the manifesto to appear more measured or ideologically coherent than the underlying reality. Allen is not cooperating with law enforcement following his arrest, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Sunday.
A Planned Attack on 2,500 Guests
The manifesto details make clear that what unfolded at the Washington Hilton Saturday night was not a spontaneous act of violence. Allen had traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C. by train, checked into the Hilton a day or two before the dinner, and arrived armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives. Roughly 2,500 guests had assembled in the ballroom — including President Trump, who was rushed from the dais when shots rang out.
One law enforcement officer was struck in the bulletproof vest when Allen allegedly opened fire and charged toward the ballroom. The vest absorbed the impact. Faster response from the assembled Secret Service, DHS, and interagency security teams prevented what could have been a catastrophic mass casualty event.
Patel praised the swift response at a press conference Monday. "The FBI was grateful to the United States Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and our interagency partners for swiftly jumping into action at the event," he said. "That should be celebrated by every single American. They did exactly what they were trained to do. They stopped a massive attack."
Charges and Consequences
Allen made a defiant first appearance in federal court Monday, facing charges of attempted assassination of the president, transportation of a firearm across state lines to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm. The attempted assassination charge alone carries a potential sentence of life in prison.
The picture of Allen that has emerged from the investigation is one of a deeply radicalized individual who spent months preparing for political violence while broadcasting warning signs that his own family reported to law enforcement. He attended No Kings anti-Trump protests, was active on the left-leaning Bluesky platform under a handle where he called Trump the Antichrist and urged followers to arm themselves, and was a member of a group called The Wide Awakes. His brother contacted authorities after receiving the manifesto. His sister told the Secret Service he constantly talked about doing "something" to fix the world's problems.
The attack happened anyway.
That the security apparatus assembled at the Washington Hilton was able to stop Allen before he reached the ballroom and carried out the full scope of what his manifesto described is a testament to the professionalism and training of the agents who responded. That a man with this profile, with this history of public radicalization, with family members actively warning law enforcement, was able to travel across the country armed with multiple weapons and reach a security checkpoint at an event attended by the president of the United States is a question that demands a serious answer.
Cole Thomas Allen, 31, is in federal custody facing charges of attempted assassination of the president. He is not cooperating with investigators. The FBI investigation is ongoing.
Investigators Probe Why WHCD Shooter Exempted Kash Patel From His Kill List
- by: Ben Martin
- 2026-04-28
- Source:
patriotuncensored.com
- 04/28/2026
