The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been rescheduled after the actions of a potential assassin abruptly ended the first event.
In a letter to WHCA members, Weijia Jiang, president of the organization and a CBS News reporter, said the event will proceed, noting that it is particularly important given that America is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year.
“We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” Jiang wrote, explaining that “rescheduling was not automatic.”
“It was a choice that the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from our members,” she said.
The association said it will have “significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures” ahead of the event, which has officially been rescheduled for July 24.
“I want to thank board members for the time and care they brought to this decision, particularly on the security front. The event will feature significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures. We will share additional details directly with attendees,” Jiang wrote.
“Our thoughts remain with the officer who was injured and with everyone who experienced that evening. We are indebted to the U.S. Secret Service, law enforcement, and the hotel staff whose swift response protected our guests and our staff,” she continued, noting that those who purchased tickets will not have to pay if they attend the second event, adding that this one will be a more “intimate gathering.”
“This 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,” Jiang added. “As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above.”
The April 25 event, which took place at the Washington Hilton, resulted in a dramatic cancellation after suspect Cole Allen, a California teacher, attempted to storm through security in an apparent attempt to murder President Trump and members of his administration.
RELATED — Blink of an Eye: The Moment the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Almost Turned Deadly
Allen’s plans were revealed in a manifesto delivered to several individuals. In it, Allen wrote that he would go through “most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary,” referring to President Trump as a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor” and deeming attendees “complicit.” He also took a selfie with his weapons prior to the assassination attempt, as Breitbart News reported:
He took that selfie roughly 30 minutes before the assassination attempt, at which time the Secret Service “engaged and stopped the defendant — who was armed with a 12-gauge pump action shotgun, a .38 caliber pistol, multiple knives and daggers, and a significant amount of ammunition for reloading — as he sprinted toward the doors of the Washington Hilton ballroom hosting attendees at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner…” prosecutors wrote.
It remains unclear if President Trump will attend the event, although he very clearly called for the event to be rescheduled after the incident and initially expressed a willingness for the show to go on after the would-be shooter was apprehended.
Trump has also used the incident to make the case for the addition of a secure White House ballroom.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the incident.
“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he added. “It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is.”
RELATED – “He Was Like a Blur” President Trump Says Attempted Assassin “Was Fast”
Read the full article here