Shooter was a floor above ballroom - never got near the place

[mcar]

This puts the security debate in better perspective. I know this space really well. The guy wasn’t anywhere near the ballroom. He was basically trying to rush the security perimeter and failed. It’s a big complex with lots of different event happening at the same time.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) 2026-04-26T15:31:42.775Z

This puts the security debate in better perspective. I know this space really well. The guy wasn’t anywhere near the ballroom. He was basically trying to rush the security perimeter and failed. It’s a big complex with lots of different event happening at the same time.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[FarPoint]

2. I need to be completely convinced

that this was not another episode of tRump drama tv program....need to up ratings for networks and tRump....

[yellow dahlia]

4. So many questions. And way TOO convenient.

If info becomes available from the shooter's mouth as to motive, that will sway me.

[RandomNumbers]

7. You have a point, but OTOH - TSF has a shit ton of people who hate him (for good reasons)

Out of that shit ton, how unlikely is it, really, that someone was off their nut in just the right way to

1) think that assassinating TSF and some minions was a good idea (umm ... ever heard the word "martyr", dumbass?)
2) still mentally capable to put together a sort of complex (though clearly insufficient) plan to accomplish it?

It's a big world out there ... and while I don't completely put TSF past staging something, Butler seems much more likely the site for it, for many reasons ... this one, not so much. Occam's Razor probably applies here.

[yellow dahlia]

13. We get more info with a motive, at some point.

And one of my other questions is - he made a plan and took a train from CA, and the best he could do was run through the middle of the SS agents at the magnetometer? How about sneaking through a back hall or the kitchen?

Isn't it sad that we no longer trust what we see?

[RandomNumbers]

18. Your last line, times infinity

For the rest, I am sorry to say that it appears the perp had / has some mental issues. His 'plan' seems pretty half-baked.

[FarPoint]

9. Apparently, on his FB site that has now been scrubbed...

He is seen in photo with IDF and wearing such tea shirt with labels a such....and is a member...something along those lines...

My friend got this information from " The Maga Report"...

[yellow dahlia]

12. Hhmmm.

[Igel]

16. Whatever that would mean.

Claim's reported on msn.com, but it's just a cross post from a not that reliable source. Which is probably why the claim's being reported there.

Was the shooter wearing an IDF shirt?
One of the most explosive narratives to emerge from the incident involves a photograph circulating on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The image allegedly shows Cole Thomas Allen wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the insignia of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). This visual claim has fuelled theories that the attack was connected to Israeli interests, or conversely, that it was a "false flag" attempt to discredit Israel.

The image appears to originate from a screenshot of a social media account that was subsequently deleted. While some users claim that the AI tool "Grok" identified the photo as being from Allen's own account, no forensic analysis of the image has been released to the public.

Even if the photo is authentic and shows Allen wearing an IDF sweatshirt at some point in his past, it does not establish a motive for the Washington shooting. Individuals often wear clothing for fashion, thrift store finds, or irony, rather than political endorsement.

Currently, this evidence remains purely circumstantial and digitally sourced. Indiatimes cannot independently verify the authenticity of the image, and authorities have not listed any connection to foreign military entities as a factor in the case.

[yellow dahlia]

3. April Smith (WH correspondent) was just talking about the lack of security.

She said the hotel elevators and inner doors were accessible without a key card.

Which makes me wonder why the perpetrator last night didn't find a better approach through the kitchen or back halls.

[Goonch]

5. ;-{) ACTIVE SHOOTER

[BidenRocks]

19. So many hands missing their champagne.

The que looks backward.

[Goonch]

22. Missing the forest for the trees

[BidenRocks]

23. The guy with the guns has already passed security?

[Goonch]

27. Police have said Cole Tomas Allen was a guest at the Washington Hilton........

Police have said Cole Tomas Allen was a guest at the Washington Hilton
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2484nln8zeo


Officials believe he checked in around April 24th, enabling him to bring weapons into the building .
https://abc7.com/live-updates/whca-dinner-shooting-live-updates-suspect-armed-multiple-guns-knives/18970525/#:~:text=Asked%20how%20the%20suspect%20may,that%20in%20the%20coming%20days.%22

[Princess Turandot]

6. Thanks. Also, here's a brief (2 min) comment from Scott MacFarlane about this..

Link to tweet

[TheProle]

8. i think this is why most of the press is terming this a "security incident" rather than "assassination attempt"

I doubt he was there for a different shooting, but in the US you never know.

[LeftInTX]

11. He's going to be charged with shooting a federal agent. (SS)

Off topic: Can't believe that guy in Florida, got a life sentence. (I was looking him up last night)

[malaise]

10. This needs to be repeated over and over

Rec

[Boo1]

14. From the video it was clear

That nothing was happening anywhere near the event. You can barely hearr any shots, and nobody in the room is reacting like anything is happening. The first thing that does happen is some SS agents move to Trump while he's oblivious to anything. That's because they were being told through their coms that there was something going on at a distant point in the perimeter, and they moved into position. They weren't reacting to anything happening in the immediate area.

[hamsterjill]

21. There's another video that shows agents moving towards Vance

Seconds before any start toward Trump. I found this very odd.

[Deep State Witch]

15. I Have A Friend That Used To Do Video

For Dept of Transportation. He's been in the "Hinkley Hilton" ballroom many times. He basically said the same thing.

[Pinback]

17. Fight! Fight! Fffff...zzz... (nt)

[C Moon]

20. If that's the case, maybe he was there for the Shirtless Gun and Knife Hobbyists meetup?

[spooky3]

24. How did this guy have so many weapons in his hotel room?

Reports say he was from California. Obviously he couldn’t fly from there with them. Did he drive all that way with weapons? Did housekeeping see the weapons and not report him?

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

26. You can fly with guns

They get flown as checked luggage. Takes 5-10 minutes extra, and occasionally you get walked to the front of the TSA line to get through security faster in case security needs you to open it back up after the initial screening.

[spooky3]

30. Wow. Thanks. Nt

[Raine1967]

29. California to Chicago then DC I think he took a train.

Amtrak has pretty lax security.

[Raine1967]

31. MSNow confirmed that he did take the Train N/T

[FakeNoose]

25. Shame on the media for not making this clear!

Even the ones who were right there in the room while it happened.....

[GreenWave]

28. I am totally floored by this.