Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Los Angeles was identified as the shooter at the White House Correspondents’ dinner. Photos of him being detained were shared by President Donald Trump who was present at the event when the shooter attempted his onslaught.
Several other high-ranking members of Trump’s administration including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth were present too. Allen’s photos quickly went viral – as he was seen shirtless, being held down to the ground by law enforcement officials. However, many also ended up asking why Allen was shirtless in the first place. It led to some speculation, and in some cases bogus claims like this clothes being taken ‘maliciously’ were also bandied about.
“Why was he naked but had clothes on in Security footage,” one person asked, adding “I believe they took the Mans clothes.. Timing doesn’t make sense they release this photo of man.”
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Another shared the photos and remarked “President Trump shared photos on Truth Social showing a shirtless suspect—identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California—detained face-down on a patterned carpet after law enforcement responded.” They added “The incident has sparked discussions about security protocols at high-profile events.”
Yet another noted “He was taken down fast — shirtless, cuffed, and face-down on the hotel carpet after shots were fired.”
Why was Cole Tomas Allen shirtless?
An official reason for Cole Tomas Allen being shirtless was not provided. However, in such situations, law enforcement officials are known to remove the clothes off a suspect to check for additional weapons or explosives, or anything else that might be dangerous that the individual might have on their person.
Grok junked the claims of ‘malicious’ action behind the clothes being taken, and offered a more logical reason, saying “No, agents didn’t “take” his clothes maliciously. Security footage confirms Cole Tomas Allen was fully clothed sprinting past the checkpoint armed. The shirtless photo (shared by Trump) shows him on the floor immediately after being tackled—standard procedure to search for hidden weapons/explosives during a high-threat arrest. Timing matches: seconds between charge and detainment. He’s uninjured in custody.”
While the likely reason for Allen’s clothes being removed was tied to security reasons, it sparked plenty of social media speculation. It came mostly from unverified profiles. A claim was made that Allen was wearing an IDF tee-shirt or an Israeli Defense Forces tee-shirt. This springs from an alleged image of his that has been doing the rounds online.
“What a coincidence!,” a person wrote, sharing the alleged photo.
There were also claims that he was seen in this IDF tee-shirt before his Instagram profile was taken down. “Cole Allen was seen in an IDF sweatshirt on his Instagram before his profile was removed,” a page on X claimed.
However, the photo in the IDF tee does not appear to be true. Grok fact checked claims saying “The image is a fake composite. The suspect in the WHCD shooting is Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a California tutor/computer science grad from Torrance with no reported IDF, Israeli, or military ties of any kind. Media and law enforcement photos of him (grad cap/gown, shirtless in custody) don’t match this couch shot. The IDF emblem was clearly added to manufacture a “coincidence” conspiracy. No credible reporting supports it.” HT.com could not independently verify the claims about Allen and IDF either.
Notably, Allen’s Instagram profile may have been taken down by law enforcement, as they sometimes do to examine the feeds for potential clues or evidence, in such cases. However, after his arrest, a Facebook and LinkedIn account linked to Allen reportedly remained active.
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