White House Dinner Shooting Suspect to Be Charged

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day. White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Suspect Set to Be Formally Charged in Court Today A gunman charged a security checkpoint at the White House correspondents’ dinner Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, exchanging gunfire with law enforcement before being subdued and taken into custody. President Trump and other senior administration officials were abruptly evacuated from the ballroom as Secret Service agents swarmed the venue and some attendees ducked under their tables. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California. He had checked into the hotel the day before, traveling by train from Los Angeles to Washington. Allen is expected to be formally charged in court today. He reportedly left behind a written manifesto in which he stated he wanted to target officials in the Trump administration. In his so-called manifesto, the suspected gunman does not mention President Trump by name but writes, “I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” In an interview with “60 Minutes,” President Trump became defensive when host Norah O’Donnell read an excerpt of the suspect’s manifesto. President Donald Trump: “I’m not a pedophile.” President Donald Trump: “I’m not a pedophile.” Norah O’Donnell: “Do you think he was referring to you?” Norah O’Donnell: “Do you think he was referring to you?” President Donald Trump: “Excuse me. Excuse me. I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. I got associated with all — 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, let’s say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, 'You know, I'll do this interview, and they’ll probably’ — I read the manifesto. You know, he’s a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that, because I’m not any of those things. President Donald Trump: “Excuse me. Excuse me. I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. I got associated with all — 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, let’s say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, 'You know, I'll do this interview, and they’ll probably’ — I read the manifesto. You know, he’s a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that, because I’m not any of those things. Norah O’Donnell: “Mr. President, these are the gunman’s words.” Norah O’Donnell: “Mr. President, these are the gunman’s words.” President Donald Trump: “And I was never — excuse me. Excuse me. You shouldn’t be reading that on '60 Minutes.' You’re a disgrace.” President Donald Trump: “And I was never — excuse me. Excuse me. You shouldn’t be reading that on '60 Minutes.' You’re a disgrace.” Trump quickly moved to use the incident to promote the massive new ballroom he is constructing on the White House grounds, posting on Truth Social Sunday morning, “This event would never have happened with the Military Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!” The Justice Department also used the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner to try to pressure the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop their lawsuit against Trump’s $400 million ballroom project. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the trust until 9 a.m. today to dismiss its lawsuit, writing in a letter that the ballroom “will ensure the safety and security of the President for decades to come and prevent future assassination attempts on the President at the Washington Hilton.” Meanwhile, on Sunday, nine people were injured in a mass shooting near the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. Trump Cancels Witkoff and Kushner’s Trip to Pakistan for Ceasefire Negotiations with Iran Ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran collapsed over the weekend. President Trump abruptly canceled a planned trip to Pakistan by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, posting the decision on Truth Social minutes after Pakistani officials announced that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had left Islamabad. Araghchi traveled today to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ceasefire negotiations. Axios is reporting that Iran gave the U.S. a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that an internal Pentagon email has outlined options for punishing NATO allies the Trump administration believes failed to support U.S. operations in the Iran war, including suspending Spain from the alliance. Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Lebanon Despite U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 others on Sunday, including two children, despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The Israeli military also ordered residents to evacuate seven towns north of the Litani River, beyond the so-called buffer zone Israeli forces have occupied. Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it had attacked Israeli troops inside Lebanon, as well as the rescue force that came to evacuate them. One Israeli soldier was killed, and six more were wounded. More than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon since March 2, including 177 children and 100 medics, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. More than 1.2 million people, nearly 22% of Lebanon’s population, have been displaced. Israeli Forces Kill at Least 12 Palestinians in Gaza In Gaza, Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians on Friday, including eight people killed when Israeli forces struck a police vehicle in Khan Younis. A separate attack in Gaza City killed two police officers. Two others were killed in the bombing of a house in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire last year, Israel has killed at least 984 Palestinians. This is Alaa Jaber. His brother was killed in an Israeli attack on Friday. Alaa Jaber: “They should find a solution. Enough. They should find a solution. Where is the new government? Where is the new government? Where is it? You hear of five, 10 martyrs every day. Where? The Israelis advance on us, fire and projectiles. And we are living in the east of Gaza close to death. Where should we go?” Alaa Jaber: “They should find a solution. Enough. They should find a solution. Where is the new government? Where is the new government? Where is it? You hear of five, 10 martyrs every day. Where? The Israelis advance on us, fire and projectiles. And we are living in the east of Gaza close to death. Where should we go?” Justice Department to Allow Firing Squads for Executions The Justice Department said Friday it will use firing squads and single-drug lethal injections to kill condemned federal prisoners, as it seeks to ramp up and expedite capital punishment. It’s also planning to impose new restrictions on the ability of death row prisoners to seek clemency or pardons, along with a regulation designed to cut years off the federal appeals process for state death penalty cases. At the Vatican , Pope Leo reiterated the Catholic Church’s opposition to capital punishment on the same day that the Trump administration announced its plans to expand state-sanctioned killings. Pope Leo XIV: “In this regard, we affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after various serious crimes are committed. Furthermore, effective systems of detention can be and have been developed that protect citizens, while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption.” Pope Leo XIV: “In this regard, we affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after various serious crimes are committed. Furthermore, effective systems of detention can be and have been developed that protect citizens, while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption.” Later in the broadcast, we’ll speak with Sister Helen Prejean, the renowned anti-death penalty activist. Justice Department Makes It Easier to Deport People with DACA Status The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has issued a ruling that makes it easier for the Trump administration to deport people with DACA — that’s the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The new precedent decision by a three-judge panel outlined that DACA no longer guarantees deportation relief for thousands of people. The BIA operates within the Department of Justice. The ruling came in the case of Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago, a DACA recipient and immigration rights advocate who was released from an ICE jail last October after being detained for about two months. The targeting of people with DACA has intensified under Trump’s second term, with nearly 300 DACA recipients arrested last year, according to The Texas Tribune. ICE Detains Family Less Than Two Days After Court Orders Their Release In Colorado, an Egyptian mother and her five children were detained by federal immigration agents for several hours on Saturday, less than two days after a federal judge ordered their release from the only U.S. family detention center, where they had been imprisoned for 10 months. Hayam El Gamal was arrested when she complied with a requirement that she check in with an ICE office in Denver. Her lawyer says she and her children were put aboard a deportation flight but were removed from the plane before it could leave the U.S., after a federal court granted an emergency injunction. The El Gamal family has already endured the longest known family detention under President Trump’s second term, at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, where they say their mental health suffered as they endured abhorrent medical care, rotten food and a disregard for their religious freedom to practice Islam. Department of Homeland Security NYT: DHS Seeks to Deny Green Cards to Immigrants Who’ve Criticized Israel The Department of Homeland Security has given guidance to immigration officers instructing them to deny green cards to immigrants who burn the U.S. flag, criticize the state of Israel or participate in pro-Palestinian campus protests. That’s according to The New York Times, citing internal DHS training documents which have not been previously reported. The guidance discourages officers from granting permanent residency to people with a history of “endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views” or “antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups.” One example of questionable speech provided to officers is a social media post that declares “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine” and shows the Israeli flag crossed out. Department of Homeland Security Appeals Court Rules Trump Unlawfully Banned Asylum Cases at Southern Border In Washington, D.C., a federal appeals court has ruled Trump’s claims of an “invasion” in order to shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border is unlawful. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the case, said, “This decision puts an end to the inhumane Trump policy of sending people, including families with little children, back to horrific danger without even a hearing.” Trump issued the proclamation on his first day back in office. Pentagon Claims It Killed Three in Strike on Alleged Drug Boat in Eastern Pacific The U.S. military said Sunday it carried out another strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least three people. U.S. Southern Command shared a video of a boat bursting into flames as it moved through open international waters. The Trump administration once again claimed the vessel was carrying drugs without providing any evidence. Since September, the Pentagon says it has killed at least 185 people in strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The attacks have been widely condemned as illegal. Mexico Says CIA Agents Killed in Car Crash Were on Mexican Soil Without Authorization The Mexican government said Saturday that the two U.S. CIA agents killed in a car crash in northern Mexico after a drug raid earlier this month were not authorized to participate in such operations in the country. The car crash prompted an investigation into the agents’ role, with Mexico’s Ministry of Security saying in a statement, “Mexican law is clear: it does not permit the participation of foreign agents in operations within the national territory.” Two Mexican law enforcement officers were also killed in the crash. Russian Drone and Missile Attacks Kill 16 Across Ukraine In Ukraine, Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least 16 people over the weekend, including nine people killed in Dnipro, where a Russian onslaught sparked fires across the city and partly destroyed several blocks of homes and businesses. Dozens of people were left wounded. This is a 74-year-old resident of Dnipro who narrowly avoided death when his apartment building was bombed. Anatolii Hetman: “Can you imagine the force of the explosion? It was so loud. I was laying down when the first blast went off. Debris started raining down on me, and the balcony was blown away. I had just grabbed a cigarette and gone into the toilet, and the last blast, it went off right next to me, and everything came crashing down. If I hadn’t gone to the toilet, I don’t know if I’d still be alive.” Anatolii Hetman: “Can you imagine the force of the explosion? It was so loud. I was laying down when the first blast went off. Debris started raining down on me, and the balcony was blown away. I had just grabbed a cigarette and gone into the toilet, and the last blast, it went off right next to me, and everything came crashing down. If I hadn’t gone to the toilet, I don’t know if I’d still be alive.” Meanwhile, Russian officials say a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant killed a worker. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had launched an investigation, and reiterated that such attacks “endanger nuclear safety and must not take place.” Tuareg Separatists Join al-Qaeda Affiliate in Coordinated Attacks Across Mali In Mali, armed Tuareg separatists joined fighters with an al-Qaeda-linked affiliate in a massive, coordinated attack on the capital Bamako and four other cities on Saturday. Amid reports of explosions and gunfire at Bamako’s international airport, officials reported Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed when an apparent suicide attacker set off a truck bomb at his residence. Mali’s military ruler, General Assimi Goïta, was reportedly moved to a secure location after his home was targeted; he has yet to make a public statement. Maine Gov. Janet Mills Vetoes Statewide Moratorium on AI Data Centers Maine’s Democratic Governor Janet Mills has vetoed what would have been the nation’s first statewide moratorium on large AI data centers. Mills said in a statement she had blocked the landmark bill because it did not include an exception on a data center in the town of Jay, at the site of a vacant mill that shuttered in 2023. Maine’s data center moratorium had drawn strong bipartisan support and was backed by Maine residents, who had raised alarm about the potential threats to the environment and higher energy costs. At least a half a dozen states, including New York and Michigan, have considered similar measures. Click here to see our coverage of this story. 1Military Veterans and Family Members Arrested in Capitol Hill Protest Against Iran War 2How Hawkish Democrats, from Schumer to Harris, Paved the Way for War with Iran: Stephen Zunes 3Lebanese Journalist Amal Khalil Killed in Israeli Strike, Medics Blocked from Saving Her Under Rubble 4“Colossus Failure”: Elon Musk’s Data Centers Face Lawsuit for Polluting Black Neighborhoods in Memphis Non-commercial news needs your support