THIS is the striking moment the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is seen in a very different light, helping elderly people in resurfaced footage.
The clip shows the now-suspected gunman innocently demonstrating his invention, designed to help make elderly people’s lives easier.
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Footage shows the suspected gunman helping elderly people Credit: ABC
Allen appears in a positive light after showcasing an invention designed to help elderly people stay safer in wheelchairs Credit: ABC7
The 31-year-old is accused of lying in wait before launching a calculated attack feared to be targeting the president Credit: Alamy
Cole Allen, 31, was arrested on Saturday night after allegedly entering the Washington Hilton armed with two guns and knives as around 2,600 politicians, journalists and guests gathered for the high-profile black-tie event.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had taken to the stage alongside senior members of his cabinet just moments before gunfire erupted and chaos tore through the venue.
Allen was later tackled and arrested by Secret Service agents during the incident.
One agent was struck in his bulletproof vest and is expected to recover. No one else was physically harmed.
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But in a dramatic contrast to the allegations now facing him, Allen was once publicly recognised for a very different reason.
Nearly a decade earlier, Allen spoke to ABC 7 News at an “Aging into the Future” conference in Los Angeles, proudly demonstrating a wheelchair safety break he had created using PVC pipes.
He said at the time: “The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels, but don’t lock the chair to the ground.
“But with this device, that will prevent the chair from skidding at all.”
At the event – run by St. Barnabas Senior Services and the Eisner Foundation – Allen, then a student at the California Institute of Technology, was also pictured alongside other young innovators presenting ideas aimed at improving elderly care.
In a sharp contrast, surveillance footage from inside the Washington hotel shows a very different image of Allen on the night of the incident.
The clip, shared by Trump on Truth Social shortly afterwards, shows Allen dressed in black and holding a firearm as security personnel stand in a corridor nearby.
Allen (far left) also posed in a picture with other young innovators at the convention Credit: Facebook
The government picture of Cole Allen
Moments later, guards are seen drawing their weapons and rushing towards him before tackling him to the ground and restraining him.
The dinner – an annual politician and media gathering – had barely begun when shots were reported around 8.15pm.
Secret Service agents rushed the stage to shield the President and senior officials while others moved through the crows, escorting cabinet members as panic spread.
Allen now faces two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
He is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday.
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison for the assault charge, with the weapons offences carrying a minimum sentence of 10 years and the possibility of life imprisonment.
It comes as…
Since the incident, an alleged manifesto sent to family members just minutes before the attack reportedly referenced himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin.”
According to the New York Post, the document contained a lengthy political justification for violence and criticism of the government.
The manifesto read: “Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial.
“I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration.
“Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavioUr; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.”
“In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls).”
“I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people chose to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”
The document allegedly outlined “administration officials” as targets. “not including Mr.Patel,” and said they were to be “prioritized from highest-lowest ranking.”
Allen also wrote, allegedly referencing the President: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Trump made remarks after shots were fired Credit: Alamy
The moment Trump was escorted away by officers as the shooting started
A handcuffed Allen seen on the ground surrounded by agents
