The U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified the U.S.-Israel war with Iran as a potential motive for the man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration at a White House journalists' gala last month, according to an intelligence report sent to state and local authorities across the country and other federal agencies.
The report, a preliminary assessment by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis dated April 27, assessed that suspect Cole Allen had “multiple social and political grievances.” He concluded that the conflict with Iran “may have contributed to his decision to carry out the attack,” citing social media posts by Allen that criticized the United States' actions in the war.
The assessment sheds new light on the US government's search for a motive in the botched attack on the White House correspondents' dinner on April 25.
Their conclusions, although preliminary, offer the most definitive evidence to date that the conflict with Iran, which has killed thousands of people in the Middle East and shaken the global economy, could have been a trigger.
The report, marked “Critical Incident Note,” was obtained through open records requests by the nonprofit People's Property and shared with Reuters.
A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on the content of the intelligence assessment.
“These reports notify our partners of the latest information available following significant incidents that have national security impacts,” the spokesperson said.
The FBI declined to comment and the U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice added one count of assault on a federal officer, accusing Allen of shooting a U.S. Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint, as well as attempted murder, discharging a firearm during a violent crime and illegally transporting a firearm and ammunition across state lines. He has not yet pleaded guilty.
The FBI examines social networks
So far, U.S. officials have said little about Allen's alleged motivation, pointing only to an email Allen sent to family members the night of the attack. The message, which officials have called a manifesto, expressed anger with the administration and referred to its desire to attack the “traitor” who was giving a speech, without mentioning Trump by name.
In court documents, prosecutors have alleged that Allen “did not agree” politically with Trump and “wanted to 'fight back' against government policies and decisions that he considered morally objectionable.”
The FBI has been conducting a detailed examination of Allen's social media activity and his digital footprint in search of a motive for the attack, a senior law enforcement official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It is being analyzed closely,” the official said. Reuters.
The examination includes a review of posts on a Bluesky social media account linked to Allen that posted and shared a variety of anti-Trump messages in the weeks before the attack.
The posts include criticism of US actions in Iran, but also attacks on the Trump administration over immigration enforcement, Elon Musk and Russia's war in Ukraine.
The account shared a post calling for Trump to be impeached for his April 7 threat to destroy Iranian civilization, which came hours before Trump agreed to a ceasefire. He also shared criticism of journalists who were planning to attend the press dinner.
The FBI also reviewed a 2024 post in which an account connected to Allen, while quoting a Bible verse, appeared to call Trump “the devil” in response to a message from Trump's daughter, Tiffany.
The focus on Allen's online activity is in part to avoid conspiracy theories about the alleged shooter's motive and online activity, the official said, adding that speculation about the online activity of the man who shot Trump during a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, had sparked widely circulated conspiracy theories.
