Todd Blanch
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
It is something that is... When you have a president who... And many people in this room, if we're going to be honest about it, have done it as well.
They're just as guilty as a lot of people on X. When you have reporters, when you have media just...
Being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence, without proof, it shouldn't surprise us.
that this type of rhetoric takes place.
If you look at what it appears that this defendant had in his past, we're talking about somebody who was college educated, who has a job, who was otherwise living his life.
And we'll find out more about him as I expect in the coming days and weeks, but he chose to do what he did.
And so our threat environment is, we are ready.
I mean, I'm not gonna go through what Director Patel just talked about with the way we responded, but this was something that we will always be prepared for.
And it's sad that it has to happen, but it's not a new thing, unfortunately.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS News' Face the Nation that the suspect in custody is not cooperating with investigators.
Blanche did not name the individual, but two sources familiar with the matter tell NPR the suspect is 31-year-old Cole Allen from Torrance, California.
Blanche says investigators are combing through evidence they've gathered so far, including from the suspect's electronic devices.
Based on preliminary information, Blanche says the suspect is believed to have traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then on to Washington, D.C., where he had a room at the Hilton Hotel where the correspondence dinner was taking place.
Investigators believe the suspect was targeting Trump administration officials, but Blanche says they are still looking into a potential motive.
Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Yes, of course.
We're not gonna stop living.
We're not gonna start doing our jobs.
We're not gonna stop all the work that we're doing every day.
And by the way, and you were there last night as well.