Secret Service agents have revealed their disbelief at the security failures they see in Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack.
MS NOW’s Carol Leonnig spoke to sources immediately after the chaos at the Washington Hilton who suggested that the alleged shooter—now identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California—shouldn’t have been able to make it past metal detectors while heavily armed.
“Let me just be clear. They’re not in the security detail. They’re not on the counter-assault team that appeared to interact with this guy. They’re not with the uniformed division that are working the magnetometers,” Leonnig said of her sources.
“But there are people one layer outside who say the following; ‘How in the world did someone get past the magnetometer? Whether they were running or whatever they were doing. How could that happen?’”
One insider also told Leonnig at the time that “a uniformed division officer—that’s a division of the Secret Service that often works security sort of on that outer perimeter—that a uniformed division officer was actually struck by some sort of shot in his vest.”
It was later confirmed that an officer was struck in the chest while exchanging shots with the gunman but was protected by a bulletproof vest.
Allen was subdued and apprehended and is expected to be charged with one count each of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
The alleged gunman himself seemed shocked by the lax security in a manifesto he purportedly wrote before the attack. In the manifesto published by The New York Post, he confirmed his aims to target members of the Trump administration before marveling at the “incompetence” of security for the event.
The manifesto was reportedly sent to Allen’s family ten minutes before the attack, and it described how he faced “no damn security” traveling to the capital, nor while checking into the hotel or even on the night of the event.
“Like, this level of incompetence is insane, and I very sincerely hope it’s corrected by the time this country gets actually competent leadership again,” he blasted, after earlier asking: “What the hell is the Secret Service doing?”
While Allen—and the Secret Service themselves—seem to have some questions about the efficiency of security at the high-profile event, the president has nothing but praise.
Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Briefing, the president gushed: “The Secret Service and all law enforcement was, I thought they were outstanding, you know? You can always nitpick and everything else, but they were outstanding.”
