Before embarking on a coast-to-coast trip across the US, Cole Tomas Allen gave different explanations to the people around him about why he would disappear for a few days, according to texts that, according to authorities, were left by him.
He told coworkers and students he tutored that he had a personal emergency. To his parents, he just said that he would have a job interview.
But Allen appears to have had a very different — and much darker — plan when he boarded a train from California to Washington, according to two senior security officials who say he is now in custody, accused of breaking through the security barrier outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and opening fire.
Now, those who lived with Allen are trying to reconcile the image of the calm young man with the shocking act of political violence of which he is accused.
The suspect, whose name was not officially released, was identified by the two agents as Allen, 31, resident of Torrance, California. He is expected to answer for multiple crimes at a hearing scheduled for this Monday.
In texts attributed to Allen, authorities say he wavered between remorse for deceiving friends and family and gratitude for a life of love and support. In some passages, he demonstrates indignation with policies adopted by the White House and makes reference to accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct, saying that he is “no longer willing” to allow a “traitor to stain my hands with his crimes” — in an apparent allusion to President Donald Trump, although he is not mentioned by name.
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The two agents who shared the writings with The New York Times requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
As of Sunday, it was unclear whether Allen already had an attorney appointed. Close relatives declined to comment on the arrest or did not respond to interview requests.
In the texts, the suspect says he went to the Washington Hilton in search of members of the Trump administration.
“Government officials (with the exception of Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from the highest to the lowest,” says one excerpt, apparently in reference to Kash Patel, director of the FBI. It is not clear from the document why Patel was cited by name.
The rhetoric contrasts with the image Allen had among neighbors, former colleagues and tutors in Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles. It was there that the house where he lived was surrounded, just before midnight on Saturday, by an FBI tactical team.
Allen was registered as a “no party preference” voter — the California equivalent of an independent. His only record of political donations found in public databases is US$25 to the campaign of Kamala Harris, Democratic candidate for President at the end of 2024.
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“He seemed like a totally ordinary guy,” said Max Harris, a high school senior at an area school who took classes with Allen for several months. He spoke on Saturday night, while watching the movement of federal agents and onlookers in front of the simple two-story house where the tutor lived in Torrance.
“I would never imagine something like that coming from a guy like him,” he added.
Allen worked as a tutor at C2 Education, which released a statement this Sunday saying it is cooperating with the investigations. “Violence is never the answer,” the company said.
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According to authorities, the suspect in Saturday’s attack was detained shortly after running through a security checkpoint and exchanging gunfire with federal agents inside the Washington Hilton. He was carrying knives, a shotgun and a pistol, according to investigators.
Initially, he must face two counts of using a firearm and one count of assaulting a federal agent with a dangerous weapon, said Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, on Saturday. The first hearing is scheduled for Monday in federal court. New accusations are not ruled out.
Allen was born in Los Angeles County and is the oldest child of four siblings.
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Until Saturday night, Allen’s father appeared in online records as dean of Grace Torrance, a church that presents itself as Protestant in the Reformed tradition.
In 2013, Allen joined the California Institute of Technology, Caltech, one of the most selective research universities in the US, in Pasadena. At the time, according to federal data, Caltech approved less than 11% of undergraduate candidates.
He studied mechanical engineering and graduated with a 3.0 GPA, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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After graduating in 2017, Allen spent a few years working as a mechanical engineer, independent video game developer and private teacher preparing for exams and entrance exams, according to LinkedIn.
In 2022, he entered California State University, Dominguez Hills to pursue a master’s degree in computer science. In a statement released on Saturday, the university stated that it had a record of a student with the same name as Allen who completed the course in 2025.
Records shared by the two agents show that Allen purchased a pistol in October 2023 and a shotgun in August 2025.
According to the text released by authorities, in recent days Allen told colleagues and students that a personal emergency would take him away from his work as a tutor and told his parents that he had “an interview”.
He then took a train from Los Angeles to Washington, via Chicago, and stayed at the Hilton a day or two before the hotel hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on “Meet the Press” this Sunday.
Blanche also said that, based on initial evidence, Allen appears to have acted alone.
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