{"id":3898,"date":"2026-07-21T19:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3898"},"modified":"2026-07-21T19:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:37:12","slug":"second-white-house-correspondents-dinner-to-honor-secret-service-hotel-staff-after-shooting-in-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3898","title":{"rendered":"Second White House correspondents\u2019 dinner to honor Secret Service, hotel staff after shooting in April"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The White House Correspondents\u2019 Association will hold its rescheduled annual dinner in Washington on Friday after the event was halted in late April when a gunman rushed past a security stop seeking to assassinate President Donald Trump and other top administration officials. <\/p>\n

Read more Catholic nuns file lawsuit arguing medical aid in dying law threatens religious freedom<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump and other Cabinet officials were quickly evacuated after shots were fired at the Washington Hilton, where the ball is usually held each spring. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what attendance at Friday\u2019s event will look like, but the WHCA predicts it will be a \u201cmore intimate gathering.\u201d Typically, the Hilton ballroom is packed with more than 2,000 reporters, students, Cabinet members, politicians and some celebrity guests. <\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s dinner will focus instead on honoring student scholarship recipients, reporters and members of the Secret Service. <\/p>\n

April\u2019s incident<\/h3>\n

The gunman was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. He was believed to have traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago and Chicago to Washington via train. Allen was a guest staying at the Hilton hotel, and was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives. <\/p>\n

He exchanged gunfire with officials before being stopped by Secret Service. One officer was struck by a bullet in the chest, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest. <\/p>\n

That officer, Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales, will be honored on Friday for \u201cheroically\u201d engaging Allen when he tried to burst through security. <\/p>\n

\u201cOfficer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely. His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week,\u201d CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang said in a statement. <\/p>\n

Jiang commended the staff of the Hilton for remaining on duty to help guests after the dinner was abruptly canceled. The kitchen staff preserved the more than 2,000 meals unserved and donated them to local shelters in D.C. \u201cEvery member of the team deserves to be recognized,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Jiang was president of the WHCA at the time. Shortly after the shooting, Trump shared online that he wanted the event to go on, but Jiang later announced to those in the ballroom that the event would be rescheduled due to security protocol. <\/p>\n

In her remarks dismissing attendees, Jiang noted how in her opening remarks that night, she said journalism is a public service because \u201cwhen there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms and the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are,\u201d she said. \u201cI saw all of you reporting, and that\u2019s what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump delivered remarks from the White House Briefing Room that night, saying it was an \u201cunexpected\u201d event and praised law enforcement. <\/p>\n

He critiqued the Hilton for the lack of security and noted that the new ballroom set to be built in the East Wing of the White House would be a better space for gatherings like this. Other parts of the hotel remained open for guests, as well as other events surrounding the correspondents\u2019 dinner. <\/p>\n

Read more Hundreds protest reductions to 2 Utah monuments<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials believe Allen checked into the hotel a day before the dinner and in his hotel room they allegedly found a manifesto that highlighted how he was in disbelief he made it in with the firearms. Allen also wrote to family that he had plans to kill the president and Cabinet members and didn\u2019t care who else he had to \u201cgo through\u201d to get to the \u201ctargets.\u201d <\/p>\n

The incident also raised questions about the administration\u2019s security, given how many in the line of succession were in attendance. <\/p>\n

Trump highlighted that this was not the first or second time a gunman had tried to kill him. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of this evening\u2019s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n

Allen appeared in court several times since the shooting in April, with his team arguing he should not be held in a \u201csafe cell.\u201d The prosecution said the recommendation to put Allen in a suicide watch was from the FBI. <\/p>\n

He has been charged with attempted assassination of a president, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Allen was also charged with transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. <\/p>\n

WCHA event an annual tradition<\/h3>\n

The annual dinner has been held at the Hilton every year since 1972. It consists of speeches from the president, a comedian, and the current WCHA president. The remarks are often witty, include banter about the press\u2019 relationship with the White House and jokes about the juxtaposition of reporters dining next to the politicians they cover. <\/p>\n

After the shooting, Trump noted that his speech will likely change at the second event and not be so critical of the reporters in the room. It\u2019s unclear if that will be the case come Friday, as the president continues to criticize many in the media.<\/p>\n

The April gala was notable even before the shooting because it was the first WHCA dinner that Trump had attended after passing up the invite during his first term and in 2025. Petitions circled before the event and before Friday for the WHCA to confront Trump about his lawsuits and other efforts against the press. <\/p>\n

The WHCA said rescheduling was \u201cnot automatic\u201d and a choice that the board made after consideration and input from members. The event Friday will include \u201csignificantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scholarship recipients will be given financial support to travel back to Washington because they and the other award winners \u201cdeserve to be recognized for their hard work.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThis dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence,\u201d the WHCA said. <\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: The Utah we love is changing \u2014 but we can still protect it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dinner was interrupted and canceled in April after a gunman breached security looking to assassinate President Trump and Cabinet officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nSecond White House correspondents\u2019 dinner to honor Secret Service, hotel staff after shooting in April - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3898\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Second White House correspondents\u2019 dinner to honor Secret Service, hotel staff after shooting in April - 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