FBI Director Kash Patel has been grilled about what authorities knew about the suspected gunman before he allegedly tried to attack Donald Trump at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
During a Monday morning appearance on Fox News’ Fox and Friends, Patel was cornered on whether 31-year-old Cole Allen was on federal agencies’ radar before he was apprehended for storming the black-tie event at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
Patel was also questioned on reports that an alert was issued with a description of the suspect, but he wasn’t detected in the hotel before charging through the security barricade, allegedly armed with several weapons.
“Those are all things that the bureau and our partners have been looking at,” Patel said. “As to the bureau, we have what’s called the BAU–a behavioral analysis unit. It’s been made famous from past historical investigations, and those folks have been working all weekend.
“What that does is not necessarily provide direct evidence to be utilized in court, but it examines what we have collected so far to include emails, social media postings, witness interviews, interviews with people, family, friends, and neighbors, so we can provide a complete picture of this individual’s mindset and intent when we make the presentment in court,” Patel added.
Fox and Friends host Lawrence Jones then pressed Patel to offer a response as to whether authorities were aware of “chatter” about the suspect before he allegedly tried to carry out the attack.
“All those questions will be answered in the criminal complaint that’s being presented. I just can’t get ahead of my partners at the Department of Justice, and especially can’t get ahead of the federal magistrate that it’s being presented to,” Patel added.
Allen is expected to be arraigned in federal court later on Monday. He is facing charges of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Hugh Dougherty, executive editor of the Daily Beast, who had been staying in the room next to the suspected gunman, blasted the lack of security ahead of the event where Trump and several top Cabinet officials attended.
“How on earth could someone with a disassembled long gun check into a room at a hotel where the president was going to speak? I can answer that: Nobody even looked at my luggage on Friday afternoon,” Dougherty wrote.
“Worse, my colleague arrived on Saturday at 5 p.m. Nobody looked at his luggage either: No magnetometers, no hand checks, no I.D. checks. Nothing.”
The Washington Post also reported that the Trump administration did not provide the highest level of security for Saturday’s event and that the Secret Service considered only the ballroom and the immediate perimeter around it to be the areas it would protect, not the entire hotel.
Elsewhere during his Fox News appearance, Patel did not condemn the actions of the Secret Service during yet another assassination attempt against Trump and instead suggested they may have saved “dozens, if not hundreds” of lives.
“We’re going to learn from this one, and we’re going to utilize President Trump’s leadership and backing of the blue and law enforcement and work with DHS to ensure our Cabinet, our protectees and the American civilian population, is as best protected as possible,” Patel said.
