An attendee at the Washington Hilton has sparked significant concern regarding the security protocols at the recent White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where a suspect allegedly opened fire outside the venue attended by Donald Trump.
Hugh Dougherty, an editor at Daily Beast, shared his observations in the hours leading to the incident, which may explain how the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, managed to navigate unnoticed with a disassembled firearm.
“How could someone with a disassembled gun check into a hotel room where the president was set to speak?” Dougherty questioned. He noted that his own luggage was not inspected when he arrived, nor were his colleagues’ bags checked by 5 p.m. on Saturday.
“There were no magnetometers, no hand checks, no identification verifications. Absolutely nothing.”
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Dougherty mentioned that he freely moved between the hotel’s ground floor and his 10th-floor room without any security stops or credential checks—a troubling oversight, especially before such a significant event.
“To access the dinner from my room, I simply showed my ticket. It could have easily been a photocopy,” he remarked.
Furthermore, he aided a colleague by sharing a copy of their ticket to help them get through the magnetometers, which Allen allegedly bypassed before being apprehended by security outside the dinner venue.
The highlighted security deficiencies are expected to undergo thorough examination as officials assess how safety was managed at one of Washington’s most significant annual gatherings, particularly with presidential attendance.
