A retired FBI profiler has provided fresh insights into the mindset of the gunman who disrupted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in what appears to have been a plan to assassinate the president and other top officials.
Thirty-one-year-old Cole Allen faced arraignment on Monday, charged with plotting to kill Donald Trump, following the chaotic events that unfolded at the prestigious annual gathering on Saturday.
Jim Clemente, a seasoned author and former FBI profiler known for his work on the Unabomber case, shared his analysis with Fox News. Clemente suggested that Allen’s actions stemmed from a profound disregard for his own life, driven by his disapproval of political figures’ conduct.
“He didn’t exhibit a general disregard for human life,” Clemente explained. “Rather, it was a targeted disdain, closely linked to his own self-perception.”
Clemente further elaborated, “His actions were clearly motivated by politicians’ behavior, which led him to target them specifically. This is likely a sentiment he has harbored and possibly expressed for some time.”
‘But clearly, he’s gotten to the point where that rose to a level — or his own self-image lowered to a level — where he felt like he needed to do something to feel better about his own image or what he perceived the world to be at this time.’
Authorities said Allen stormed a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton before armed security tackled him, and gunfire was exchanged.
One Secret Service member was struck in their protective gear. Although no one was harmed, the harrowing sequence of events underscored security concerns and renewed conversations surrounding heightened political violence in the US.
Cole Tomas Allen, pictured above, has been named as the suspect who stormed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Former FBI profiler, Cole Allen, told Fox News that he believes Allen was not a psychopath and operated under a ‘very specific disrespect for human life’
Allen is accused of attempting to assassinate the president. He allegedly stormed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, causing chaos among attendees. Agents are pictured above responding to the threat
Investigators uncovered an apparent manifesto after the attack, which Allen allegedly sent to family members minutes before he stormed the lobby of the hotel.
The writings detailed his plans to target administration officials from ‘highest-ranking to lowest,’ and demonstrated extreme anti-Trump sentiments.
Clemente, pictured above, worked on the Unabomber case and recently offered insights on the WHCD shooting suspect
Allen’s alleged manifesto, first obtained in full and published by the New York Post, said his only targets were administration officials, and he would not fire at hotel employees or guests.
The writings also included the suspect’s plans to minimize casualties by using buckshot rather than slugs.
‘I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to that,’ the message read.
Allen is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology and described himself on social media as a game developer, engineer, scientist and teacher.
Dylan Wakayama, the president of a nonprofit that collaborates with Allen’s employer, C2 Education, told the Los Angeles Times that Allen’s students thought he was intelligent, nice and quiet.
Allen is a California teacher and has been described as a quiet and intelligent person. FBI agents raided his home in Torrance after the attack, pictured above
Allen appeared in court for the first time on Monday. He was arraigned on federal charges related to the attempted assassination
‘They [Allen’s students] were completely shocked when I told them that this all went down,’ Wakayama said.
‘I think all of us in Torrance would be shocked if this is the man who attempted to kill the president of the United States,’ he added.
Max Harris, a senior whom Allen had tutored in Torrance, told the New York Times that Allen seemed ‘like a completely average guy.
‘I never would have expected anything like this from a guy like him,’ Harris said.
Clemente told Fox News that based on what he knows about Allen and his alleged manifesto, it did not seem like the suspect was a psychopath.
‘He doesn’t sound like somebody who is unstable mentally. Certainly, emotionally, that’s a different story … nothing that I have read or seen indicates that he was having some kind of psychotic break or that he would be schizophrenic,’ Clemente added.
The FBI profiler argued that Allen likely knew that if he ran through a security checkpoint at the high-profile event, he could be met with gunfire.
Investigators believe the suspect was targeting Donald Trump. The president is pictured above answering questions from reporters after the attack
‘And that might have been part of his motivation, that he didn’t have the will to live, and once you lose the will to keep yourself alive, other people’s lives become much less important,’ Clemente said.
Allen’s alleged manifesto had included an apparent acknowledgment that he could be injured by armed agents.
‘I apologize to my colleagues and students for saying I had a personal emergency (by the time anyone reads this, I probably most certainly DO need to go to the ER, but can hardly call that not a self-inflicted status.)’ the manifesto read in part.
Allen has not entered a plea to the charges against him. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Monday that law enforcement expects to bring more charges against Allen. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday for a detention hearing.