I confess that when I read a couple of analyses of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that claimed it was a setup by Trump that I was tempted. I re-posted one account on my Facebook page. The coincidences—the lack of security in the hotel, the decision to withhold the name of the wounded Secret Service officer, and all the orchestrated comments from Trump and his flunkies regarding his stupid ballroom—seemed to be more than coincidences. I was wrong. I should have known better.
At this point, a few days later, the only reliable source we have for understanding what happened in the hotel is the message that Cole Thomas Allen sent to family members just before he sprinted into the checkpoint area outside the dinner filled with 2,000 people. His words are memorable.
The message has frequently been labeled a manifesto but I that wasn’t what he intended. He wanted to apologize for having not told the truth about where he had been going and to explain why he had decided to “target” Trump and high-ranking members of his administration). This is where he wrote the now well-known words:
I am a citizen of the United States of America.
What my representatives do reflects on me.
And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.
He also described very detailed “rules of engagement” to avoid putting non-targets at risk.
After listing and rebutting what he thought would be objections to his actions, he thanked people:
I would also like to extend my appreciation to a great many people since I will not be likely to be able to talk with them again (unless the Secret Service is *astoundingly* incompetent.)
Thank you to my family, both personal and church, for your love over these 31 years.
Thank you to my friends, for your companionship over many years.
Thank you to my colleagues over many jobs, for your positivity and professionalism.
Thank you to my students for your enthusiasm and love of learning.
Thank you to the many acquaintances I’ve met, in person and online, for short interactions and long-term relationships, for your perspectives and inspiration.
Thank you all for everything.
At the end, he added a PS:
Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing? Sorry, gonna rant a bit here and drop the formal tone.
Like, I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo.
What I got (who knows, maybe they’re pranking me!) is nothing.
No damn security.
Not in transport.
Not in the hotel.
Not in the event.
Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance.
I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.
The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals, because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before.
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.
Like, if I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here and no one would have noticed shit.
Actually insane.
Oh and if anyone is curious is how doing something like feels: it’s awful. I want to throw up; I want to cry for all the things I wanted to do and never will, for all the people whose trust this betrays; I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.
These are not the words of a “madman.” He is someone who was willing to die and expected to die. He survived as the result of incompetence. He now lives to tell more of his story in the future. Unless they manage to cook up something unexpected, he will not face the death penalty. We should begin organizing a campaign for his pardon now.
One last thing. The news media have been saturated with pseudo-analyses of his “radicalization.” Those who utter the words have no idea what it means to become radical. And those who would criticize him for his choice of violence might do well to study the deeds of John Brown at Harpers’ Ferry.
John Brown hated slavery and he was prepared to sacrifice his life and the lives of his children in the battle to eliminate it. He hoped that his raid on an army arsenal at Harpers Ferry (in West Virginia) would provoke a slave rebellion. He “failed.” There was no rebellion. But, as Noel Ignatiev, the founding editor of Hard Crackers, often reminded us, the raid and Brown’s subsequent execution led directly to the outbreak of the Civil War. It may well be the most successful failure in US history.
Like Brown, Cole Thomas Allen was a Christian whose beliefs were deeply felt. Unlike Brown, who spent years as a fervent abolitionist, Allen was a pretty “regular” guy until the outrages became too much. Brown and Allen both reached a point of no return. It remains to be seen what Allen’s failure might bring.