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The former president Barack Obama posted a message on his social media yesterday condemning the shooting that took place during the White House Correspondents' Dinner and calling for a rejection of violence as a political tool in a democracy.
"Although we do not yet have the details regarding the motives behind last night's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, we all have the obligation to reject the notion that violence has any place in our democracy," Obama wrote on Facebook.
The former president also praised the bravery of the Secret Service agents and expressed relief over the recovery of the injured agent: "It is also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that Secret Service agents demonstrate every day. I am grateful to them, and I am glad that the agent who was shot is going to be fine."
The incident that prompted Obama's statement occurred on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington D.C., when Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher residing in Torrance, California, attempted to breach the event's security checkpoint carrying a shotgun, a pistol, and several knives.
Allen fired between five and eight shots in the hotel lobby before being neutralized and apprehended by the Secret Service, failing to gain access to the room where approximately 2,600 attendees of the event were present.
An agent from the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service was injured by a gunshot that was stopped by his bulletproof vest, and full recovery is expected.
The president Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and several cabinet members were evacuated unharmed by the Secret Service.
It was the first time Trump attended the Correspondents' Dinner as a sitting president, breaking the boycott he maintained throughout his entire first term and in 2025.
The FBI is investigating the case as an ideologically motivated act of political violence and classifies Allen as a "lone wolf." In his manifesto, the attacker referred to himself as the "Friendly Federal Killer" and expressed anti-Christian hatred and criticisms of the Trump administration.
Interim Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that Allen was targeting the president and senior government officials.
Trump, for his part, described the attacker as "radicalized" and "probably a sick person" in an interview aired yesterday by CBS, and stated to the press at the White House: "It's not going to stop me."
Obama's condemnation adds to other bipartisan reactions. Nancy Pelosi described the attack as "terrifying," and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani explicitly rejected "political violence." For now, Joe Biden has not made a statement.
This is the third recorded attack against Trump, following the one on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the attempt on September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. In February 2026, the Secret Service also shot and killed an armed man who entered Mar-a-Lago carrying a firearm and a gas can.
Allen appears before a judge in Washington this Monday, facing charges of gunfire, illegal possession of firearms, and assaulting a federal officer.
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