By Dave Workman
Fox News is reporting that a former FBI criminal profiler has described would-be presidential assassin Cole Thomas Allen as a person who “doesn’t sound like a psychopath… doesn’t sound like somebody who is unstable mentally.”
That description closely concurs with the observation of a national gun rights advocate, who said in a statement to the media Monday, “President Trump referred to the suspect as a ‘whack job’ and after reading his manifesto, that description seems appropriate. That’s not to suggest this guy should be allowed to plead insanity, because his writings show he was in complete control of his faculties.”
Former FBI profiler Jim Clemente went on to tell Fox News, “Obviously, he was outwardly motivated by the actions of politicians, which is why he targeted them, and this is probably something that he has expressed in his life recently, maybe for a long time. But clearly, he’s gotten to the point where that rose to a level — or his own self-image lowered to a level — where he felt like he needed to do something to feel better about his own image or what he perceived the world to be at this time.”
Meanwhile, Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, observed, “He (the suspect) appears to be someone consumed by the vile, hate-filled rhetoric that’s been used against Donald Trump for more than ten years. This was not some spur-of-the-moment act… We watched in shock with everyone else, as a California teacher, obviously overwhelmed by fanatical anti-Trump demagoguery, attempt to kill people.”
Allen made his first court appearance Monday. He faces charges including the attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, according to WJLA News.
Allen is being described by former neighbors as not being someone they would suspect of being a presidential assassin. An article in the Mercury News described Allen as someone who had once been apolitical.
However, Fox News is reporting Allen “was a Democratic activist who attended at least one “No Kings” protest, and once donated $25 to ActBlue, the progressive digital fundraising platform, which was earmarked for Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential bid.”
The suspect was armed with a 12-gauge pump shotgun fitted with an accessory called a “side saddle” which holds additional shells, and a Rock Island Armory Model 1911 chambered apparently in .38 Super. The guns were purchased legally at two different gun stores over the course of a couple of years.
Allen will likely face additional charges.
Workman is editor-in-chief at TheGunMag.com
