Don Lemon accused Trump ‘regime’ of threatening press freedom hours before WHCD shooting

WASHINGTON, DC: Former CNN host Don Lemon faced quite a backlash after he went on a rant about why he was not attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner, shortly before an armed man tried to storm security and shoot up the Saturday night event.

The suspect was identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, a teacher and video game developer from Torrance, California. Armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives, Allen charged toward a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel lobby of the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. 

The checkpoint was just outside the ballroom where President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Cabinet members, lawmakers, and hundreds of journalists were gathered. 

At approximately 8:36 pm EDT, Allen attempted to breach security and triggered a confrontation with law enforcement. He fired at least one shot, striking an officer in a bullet-resistant vest. The officer was not seriously injured and is expected to fully recover.

Secret Service agents and other officers quickly tackled and subdued Allen. He did not sustain any gunshot wounds during the incident.

Don Lemon’s pre-dinner rant

Lemon went on a rant about why he was not attending the dinner just hours before the incident unfolded.

"Let's talk about the White House Correspondence Center," he began. "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. And that's why I am not in that room tonight, even though I was invited, because I don't want to sit in a room and pretend it's normal and sip champagne and black tie and ball gowns, pretending that this is normal when it's not. This is not normal Republican versus Democratic politics."

"The Trump regime is trying to take away press freedom. They are trying to kill the First Amendment. They don't believe in the First Amendment. They don't believe in freedom of the press. Otherwise, they would not be arresting reporters. They would not be searching their homes. They would not be taking their their cell phones. They wouldn't be trying to investigate them because they write a story that you don't like about your girlfriend," Lemon continued.

"All of those things. I can't believe the White House Correspondents Association invited them to be in that room. I don't understand it. I don't get it. You have to take a stand. And if you're in that room, you are cosigning this. You're complicit in normalizing something that should not be normal. Something that is really what they're doing is unconstitutional. So I think it's going to be up to independent journalists to fight the good fight until we get our mainstream corporate journalists back in some way," he said, before plugging his show.

"So support independent journalists, support the 'Don Lemon Show' on all of our platforms. Go to YouTube, Twitch, Substack, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts and support and follow us and support and follow all the independent journalists who are doing great work," Lemon said, "But the people who are sitting in that room, I'm sorry it's a bad look the American people don't want it nor do they need it you have to stand for something."

Backlash after shooting reports

Lemon faced backlash as soon as reports of the shooting surfaced.

"Did you know about the shooting? thats the result of the rhetoric...by people like you," one responded on X.

"You are complicit with the crazy guy that did this! Your TDS and your microphone make people think that we’re losing our freedoms. Please stop inciting mental deficient individuals," another insisted.

"It’s this very rhetoric that you are spewing right now that is the reason these crazy people keep coming forward. Stop the BS," someone else fumed.

"You must live in a very small world, haunted by cultural poverty," a comment read.

"Looks like somebody didn’t get invited to the party…" another quipped.

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