Fact Check: Did Trump take a photo of Cole Allen after the White House shooting?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, April 25, an image has been circulating on social media platforms claiming to show President Donald Trump taking a picture of the shooting suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, after he was detained by the Secret Service. Let us analyze the viral photo and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Photo shows Donald Trump clicking a picture of Cole Allen after White House shooting
The viral image that surfaced on X shows President Trump squatting down with a phone in his hand and taking a picture of Cole Allen, who is seen pinned down and restrained by two Secret Service agents.
The post has garnered hundreds of thousands of likes, with the comments under it indicating that many believe it to be real, while a few others remained skeptical and dismissed it, calling the picture AI-generated.
Fact Check: Viral image of Trump with Cole Allen is digitally manipulated
The image, however, is not authentic and was posted by a parody account called ‘Not the Bee,’ based on the real photo of the suspect posted by Trump on his social media.
Based on reports, the president, along with other high-profile officials, was immediately evacuated from the place after the shots were heard, and it is not likely for Trump to come back and take a picture of the suspect.
Although an analysis of the image using AI detection tools such as Hive Moderation and ZeroGPT detected no AI.
As a reminder, AI detection tools are not always accurate and are prone to both false positives and false negatives.
However, visual evidence such as an unusually smooth surface suggests that it may have been generated using AI or photo editing tools.
Cole Allen charged in alleged assassination attempt after White House shooting
After his arrest following the shooting at the White House, Cole Allen invoked his right to remain silent, as revealed in the court documents.
While the prosecutor plans to slap additional charges against him, the criminal complaint charges Allen with attempted assassination of the president, transportation of a firearm with the intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
An affidavit from an FBI agent shows a timeline ahead of the alleged crime, revealing that the suspect had started preparing for the shooting soon after Trump announced that he would attend the annual dinner.
The filing revealed that Allen booked a three-night stay at the Washington Hilton on April 6 and departed for the venue on April 21. He travelled from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, DC, by train.
