Bo Dietl, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council appointed by President Donald Trump, said Sunday on Newsmax that the security posture at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner held, but only narrowly, calling the breach a warning that hotel checkpoints and the prolonged budget fight at the Department of Homeland Security have left the country exposed.
Dietl, a former NYPD detective, was responding on "Wake Up America Weekend" to the attack at the Washington Hilton, where a gunman charged a security checkpoint outside the ballroom shortly before 8:36 p.m. Saturday and exchanged fire with law enforcement before being subdued.
Authorities identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, who was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. A Secret Service officer was struck in a bullet-resistant vest and was released from a hospital. Allen was not shot.
"Now we have a target," Dietl said. "This president has been a target [and] will be the target."
He argued that crowded magnetometer lines at hotels, airports, and event venues are the most vulnerable point in any layered protection scheme because attackers can reach a dense crowd before being screened.
The suspect was seen on surveillance video sprinting past metal detectors outside the ballroom.
Dietl tied the breach to the long-running standoff over DHS funding, saying lawmakers should stop using the department as leverage. Dietl named both Democrat leaders directly.
The agency has been shut down since Feb. 14 amid a dispute over Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., demanding ICE reforms before agreeing to full funding.
"Why are you doing this? This is the safety for Americans. People going on planes, people going into locations. We must stop the nonsense. We have to enhance our security," he said.
The Secret Service is a DHS component.
He praised the Secret Service response but questioned why officers did not fire on the suspect as he ran toward the ballroom, saying agents "should have riddled him up and taken him down immediately."
Officials have said law enforcement and Allen exchanged gunfire; Allen was not struck. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that investigators believe Allen was targeting Trump administration officials.
Dietl warned the incident could be a preview of more lone-wolf attempts and said inflammatory political rhetoric was helping motivate would-be attackers.
Allen, who has no criminal record, purchased the shotgun used on Saturday in August 2025, according to law enforcement sources.
He is expected to be arraigned on Monday on charges of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, with U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro saying additional charges are likely.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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