The Dictatorship
Close watch on how Trump and journalists get along at correspondents’ gala
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday night, charging toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired.
The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. The armed man, who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody and was expected in court Monday. Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive.
“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”
The shooting unfolded just outside the vast subterranean ballroom holding thousands of dinner guests, disrupting minutes after it began an annual event meant to honor journalism and the First Amendment that was being especially scrutinized this year because it was the first time since Trump became president that he had attended. Trump told reporters later that he hoped the event would be rescheduled within 30 days, though the fact that an armed man was able to rush toward the ballroom raised instant questions about security precautions at an event attended each year by senior government officials.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
Security video appears to show suspect running towards White House correspondents’ dinner
The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. He is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
AP AUDIO: Suspect was armed with multiple weapons at White House correspondents’ dinner
At a news conference, President Trump says one officer was shot, but was protected by a bulletproof vest.
Inside the ballroom, guests scurried for cover at the sound of shots while Secret Service agents, including the heavily-armed counterassault team, swarmed the stage after the incident.
First-hand account of Trump’s evacuation after security incident at correspondents’ dinner
Vice President JD Vance was removed from the room first, while agents initially covered Trump in place before escorting him and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Trump briefly stumbled on the way offstage, before being assisted by his security detail.
He was held for some time in a secure presidential suite at the hotel as the president and organizers initially sought to resume the event — hotel staff refolded napkins and refilled water glasses, and aides adjusted the teleprompter for the president — before Trump was returned to the White House on the advice of the Secret Service.
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Members of law enforcement control shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Members of law enforcement control shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been under threat by an attacker in his immediate vicinity — including the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured him and killed a local firefighter.
“Today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before,” the president said. But he also said, “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, flanking Trump, said the agency is examining a long gun and shell casings recovered from the scene, as well as interviewing witnesses from the dinner. He urged anyone with information to come forward.
Dinner turns to disorder
Guests were dining on a spring pea and burrata salad when noise began — noise Trump said he initially thought was a tray dropping but some journalists believed were five to eight gunshots.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening; hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume, the event was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
AP AUDIO: Trump unharmed after shooting incident at White House correspondents’ dinner
President Trump is unharmed after security incident at White House correspondents’ dinner. AP correspondent Aamer Madhani was there has this update from the scene.
“We will do this again,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Shortly afterward, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he and his wife, Kelly, who both attended the event, were “praying for our country tonight.” The House Democratic leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, wrote on social media, “The violence and chaos in America must end.”
The banquet hall — where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s remarks — was immediately evacuated. Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building as people were allowed to leave but not immediately reenter. Security outside was also extremely tight.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, a guest at the dinner, said he heard a pop and “we didn’t know what the hell it was. And then you heard all sorts of things clatter.” Lawler said he gets “death threats often” and said, “I think we live in a climate where everybody recognizes it’s a problem, but I don’t think people fully appreciate how much of a problem it really is.”
The event had initially appeared set to resume after the disorder. Servers refolded napkins and refilled water glasses in preparation for Trump’s return. Another worker prepared the president’s teleprompter for the remarks he was scheduled to make.
Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Law enforcement officials direct traffic outside the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the correspondents’ dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself. In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Hilton — an event that prompted redesigns of the property that increased security and added a special presidential suite near the entrance where chief executives could be taken. Trump was dispatched there briefly after the incident Saturday night.
Event would have highlighted Trump’s relationship with press
Trump’s attendance at Saturday’s annual dinner in Washington for his first time as president was expected to put his administration’s often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.
Trump arrived to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.
Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.
The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.
Trump entered the banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.
Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.
Between berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in court and restricting press access to the Pentagonthe administration’s animus toward journalists has been a fixture of Trump’s second term.
A few dozen protesters stood across the hotel in the run-up to the event. One was dressed in a prison uniform, wearing a Pete Hegseth mask and red gloves. Another carried a sign saying, “Journalism is dead.”
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AP journalists Eric Tucker, Michael Balsamo, Zeke Miller and Anna Johnson contributed to this report. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
DETROIT (AP) — The opening of a Canadian-U.S. bridge across the Detroit River, which President Donald Trump had previously threatened to block, was delayed Thursday due to unresolved issues.
In a statement released before a scheduled Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said that “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.” It didn’t elaborate on what those issues are or how long the delay would last.
The 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long) Gordie Howe International Bridge spans the Detroit River and connects the Motor City with Windsor, Ontario. The bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan and was expected to open to traffic later this month.
But the opening had been thrown into question after Trump in February demanded in a social media post that Canada turn over at least half of the bridge’s ownership to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of the Republican president’s many salvos over cross-border trade issues.
Michigan officials and the White House had been in contact for months about the bridge following Trump’s post, with the understanding that the opening would move forward Friday. Invitations for the bridge’s opening went out this week following a conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“This project is a powerful example of bipartisan and international cooperation, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it happens,” a statement from Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said.
New bridge a “long-term play”
Internal disagreements within the Trump administration threw those plans into question, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pushed back on the opening, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday evening, “At the request of the United States we agreed to delay the opening and take the necessary time to resolve outstanding issues.”
He added, “There are some things that have been raised, a series of technical aspects, which we will work through with the United States.”
Even with the delay, officials remained optimistic that the bridge — a roughly $4.4 billion project — is still expected to open.
“We need to keep this very much in perspective,” said Sandy Baruah, president of the Detroit Regional Chamber and former U.S. assistant secretary of commerce. “Our organization, the state of Michigan and others have been working on this bridge for 20 years. If it opens July 1, Aug. 1 or Sept. 1, I’m not going to get overly agitated about it. This is a long-term play.”
Named after the late Canadian Hockey great Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons leading the Detroit Red Wings, the bridge is expected to be another vital economic artery between Canada and the United States.
The construction project was negotiated by Rick Snyder, the former Republican governor of Michigan, and paid for by Canada to help ease congestion at the existing Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, said she’s taking people at their word that the holdup is “a minor hiccup.”
“This is probably the most bipartisan issue in the state of Michigan, so it’s ridiculous that we can’t just seal the deal,” Slotkin said.
Commerce and border crossings
Detroit and Windsor have been neighborly for generations, with residents in both countries frequently crossing the shared river border for entertainment and shopping. Windsor’s population in 2021 was about 230,000. Like Detroit, the Canadian city’s economy has a strong focus on manufacturing and the auto industry.
Commercial trade between the two cities primarily has been across the nearly century-old and privately-owned Ambassador Bridge, which is closer to downtown Detroit than the Gordie Howe Bridge.
The Ambassador Bridge had been the busiest commercial border crossing between the United States and Canada until last year, when truck traffic along the Blue Water Bridge connecting Port Huron, Michigan, to Sarnia, Ontario, surpassed the Ambassador Bridge’s numbers, according to the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association.
In 2025, about 2.1 million trucks crossed the Blue Water Bridge compared to just over 1.8 million that used the Ambassador Bridge. About 3.5 million passenger vehicles used the Ambassador Bridge last year, while 1.6 million crossed via the Blue Water Bridge.
Combined, more than 9.2 million vehicles crossed the border on those two bridges in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
More than 3.7 million cars and SUVs also traveled between the United States and Canada last year via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Both bridges and the tunnel are working at full capacity, and the new bridge will help improve the efficiency of commercial and personal traffic between the two countries, Baruah said.
“This is what government is supposed to do, make it easier for business to conduct commerce,” he said.
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Cappelletti reported from Washington.
President Donald Trump’s planned UFC fight on the White House’s South Lawn has required a monumental effort from more than seven federal agencies, hundreds of staff working onsite daily and at least $60 million, according to a legal filing that offers a glimpse into the preparations.
The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction — seven mixed martial arts matches — on Sunday.
That is, if a judge doesn’t halt the proceedings, which is sought by two Virginia residents in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.
The agency filed a rebuff of the request Tuesday in court, and, in it, laid out the operations for the event.
“Well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended,” the document read, adding that the money came from the UFC and groups affiliated with it.
The Octagon
It’s the eight-sided cage that surrounds the sometimes bloodied combatants and sits at the center of the constructed arena on the South Lawn.
The arena is expected to hold 4,000 spectators, with another 120,000 visitors — who swung tickets from an online lottery — anticipated to watch from the nearby Ellipse.
The installation began May 20, and the Secret Service worked with the UFC to screen between 20 and 30 trucks of equipment — as well as between “700 and 900” staff — that came in daily for the installation.
The document did not specify the extent of government resources spent on the project, but said seven agencies, including Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration, have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”
The schedule
It’ll kick off Saturday with a ceremonial weigh-in at the Ellipse, followed by a concert by country musicians The Zac Brown Band.
A UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest will be ongoing through the weekend, with “interactive experiences,” live shows, celebrity appearances, “exclusive on-stage moments,” meet and greets, live music and interviews with the athletes.
Sunday night is when the seven bouts kick off. At the close, Trump is scheduled to fly to France for the G7 summit.
Disassembly of the installations will begin the next day, and they are expected to be entirely removed by June 23.
The athletes’ Epsom salt baths
There are 14 athletes competing, and their training is rigorous.
Preparations start months in advance, working toward more intense weight cutting and diet alteration in the final week that can include fasting, extreme sauna use and hot Epsom salt baths.
They could be shaving as many as 20 pounds before weigh-ins, which are designed to keep the competition fair between similarly weighted combatants.
Lawsuit calls it ‘corrupt’
It was filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of the two Virginia residents and argues that Trump’s authorization of the event violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands.
One of the attorneys, Brendan Ballou, characterized it as a “corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain.”
The National Park Service pushed back on that claim, but also detailed the event’s preparations to make a point.
“All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment,” it read, “by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”
FBI agents on Thursday raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a pro-democracy organization that helps register voters in that state, according to three people briefed on the search.
Agents also fanned out across the state, showing up at the homes of the group’s leaders and staff members, carrying some subpoenas and seeking information and electronic devices, according to the people, two of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive ongoing investigation. Members of the group had made contact with lawyers on Thursday to determine their legal options, the people said.
Prentiss Haney, a board member for Ohio Organizing Collaborative, told MS NOW Thursday night that agents approached people with connections to Ohio Organizing Collaborative, including some who had performed basic canvassing and volunteer work for the group, and began pressing them for information.
Agents were “basically trying to fish for information,” said Haney.
“They had agents all across the state going to civil rights leaders and community leaders’ doors intimidating them, coming and demanding that they talk about literally anything they would ask,” Haney said, adding that agents “asked them if they’re committing voter fraud, just on their doors, in front of their houses with their children, and just following them to work and school.”
Haney said some of the people said the agents approached without warrants.
“Just straight-up intimidation tactics,” he said.
Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Thursday night.
Those sources familiar with the investigation said they are concerned this new effort in Ohio is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to sow doubt and distrust in voting integrity in key swing states ahead of the midterm elections.
Federal agents have in recent months launched inquiries and investigations into voting protocols in Georgia and Wisconsin, have subpoenaed voting records in Arizona and sought reviews of voting machines in Puerto Rico.
According to its website, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative facilitates statewide voter registration through grassroots, community-led programs, including its “Democracy Builders” initiative. This collaborative works in Ohio’s major metropolitan areas, such as Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, to help underrepresented communities register to vote and provides other support.
The group has also joined lawsuits challenging redistricting efforts that it argues reduce Black voters of representation. These lawsuits also “stand your ground” laws that allow a person to shoot someone if they feel threatened.
Haney said the Cleveland raid and harassment of staff are unjustified and that investigators lack any evidence of wrongdoing.
“How can they distract and intimidate civil rights leaders and voters and community leaders who are helping people get registered to vote and create a national spectacle about it?” he said.
“That is the only reason why they would choose to do that, do it now, in the middle of a contested political election in the state. There’s no other reason. They have no evidence of that.”
Carol Leonnig is a senior investigative reporter with MS NOW.
Will McDuffie is a reporter for MS NOW.
Alex Tabet is a reporter for MS NOW.
Laura Barrón-López covers the White House for MS NOW.
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