New details were revealed Monday about the suspected gunman who rushed through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C., details that journalist Ken Klippenstein described as “unsettling in its ordinariness.”
The suspected gunman was soon identified as Cole Allen, a 31-year-old California resident whose background largely remained a mystery – that is, until Klippenstein obtained a copy of his resume and spoke with his former colleagues.
“Rumors are already swirling that Allen is some anti-Christian zealot aided by a network of left-wing compatriots,” Klippenstein wrote in a report published Monday on his Substack.
“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says the FBI is looking into whether Allen was operating alone. But who was he, exactly? And what does he represent? The answer, drawn from a copy of his resume I obtained and interviews with people who knew him, is unsettling in its ordinariness.”
According to Klippenstein, Allen attended the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 2017, and went on to work at IJK Controls LLC, a “small” California-based engineering and defense technology company. Before his time at Caltech, Allen worked as an intern for a company designing “3D-printed casings for medical devices,” and also developed his own video games.
“He seemed proud of it,” one of Allen’s former Caltech classmates told Klippenstein on the condition of anonymity.
Allen was also apparently a devout Christian, contrary to President Donald Trump’s claim that he “hates Christians.”
“He was pretty prominent at the Caltech Christian Fellowship,” another former classmate of Allen’s told Klippenstein, also on the condition of anonymity.
When asked about their thoughts on Allen’s apparent attempt to assassinate Trump and his top officials, the aforementioned former classmate told Klippenstein it was difficult to believe.
“If I didn’t see his face eating carpet, I would’ve never believed it,” they said, referencing a photograph of Allen handcuffed face down on the floor of the Washington Hilton hotel.
Regarding Allen’s faith, a social media account reported to belong to the suspected gunman had made multiple posts referencing Christianity. The social media account also responded to Trump’s post featuring an image depicting himself as a Jesus Christ-like figure, suggesting the president to be the antichrist, a figure in Christian theology who spiritually misleads people and may imitate Christ.
“There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name,” reads the post from the social media account believed to belong to Allen, writing in response to Trump’s social media post depicting himself as a Christ-like figure.