A man is in custody and charged with the attempted assassination of the President of the United States and other crimes, but the Los Angeles Times is among media outlets who thought people might be interested in the accused's life journey.
But first, a quick update on the gunman who the defense says is being deprived of his dignity:
Defense lawyers for the man charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last week say he is no longer on suicide status in the Washington D.C. jail he's being held in, according to a court filing from Sunday afternoon.
The attorneys said their client, Cole Tomas Allen, was previously being deprived of his dignity and resources by being unnecessarily kept under suicide precautions.
He should have been deprived of oxygen privileges the night of the WHCD.
Back to the L.A. Times piece...
This has major Washington Post "austere religious scholar" vibes combined with Rolling Stone's dreamy cover about one of the Boston Marathon bombers:
Recommended
Cole Allen's journey from young athlete and Caltech grad to accused gunman in D.C. attack https://t.co/D17WnIsh5o
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 3, 2026
The story reads like the Times is writing a background piece on a famous athlete, astronaut or successful business owner... who then tried to kill a president and members of his Cabinet.
Glamorizing a failed assassin is a hallmark of the Legacy Media.
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) May 4, 2026
This is why trust in Legacy Media is at historic lows. https://t.co/GOzXbCOsUl
Your Personal Assassination Experience Begins Here.
— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) May 3, 2026
(The LA Times knows exactly what's it's doing with this "journey" stuff.) https://t.co/vXCz0aVkjX
The story starts off with three points:
A quiet, respected tutor and engineer from Southern California with a “godly” upbringing allegedly attempted to assassinate President Trump at the White House correspondents’ dinner, shocking those who knew him.
Allen’s social media accounts under the handle “coldForce” show years of posts criticizing Trump and supporting Ukraine, but contain no indication of violent intent despite the alleged assassination plot.
Those who knew Allen — former teammates, colleagues, and parents of his students — describe him as polite and apolitical, struggling to reconcile the man they knew with the shocking accusations against him.
The Times' profile includes this attempt to make the would-be assassin bipartisan:
For the next year, @CForce3000 shared hundreds of posts from sources as diverse as Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and former Ukrainian diplomat Maria Drutska.
When it comes to Trump, there is zero difference between Lieu and Cheney, so there is no "diversity of opinion" there.
“Accused gunman in DC attack”
— girlwithattitude🇺🇸 (@Julesro42) May 4, 2026
Pathetic, even from you LA times.
Notably left out of the story is how the would-be assassin got so indoctrinated. That part of the "journey" wasn't worth investigating, apparently.
I’m not interested in his journey. I’m interested in his final chapter and how that ends for him.
— Kay T (@lloretak) May 4, 2026
Accused gunman? Your lying eyes can’t be believed? https://t.co/VU8p9ylbWm
— Frank Liebsch (@FLiebsch78521) May 4, 2026
In the story the Times doesn't even assign the gunman's social media posts by name, not to mention the manifesto. Quoted social media posts are attributed to the account's handle, and the manifesto is authored by "the writer of the document."
We didn't need another reason to loathe modern "journalism" but the L.A. Times decided to give us one anyway.
