Guest at White House Correspondents’ Dinner goes viral for calmly eating his meal while everyone else cowers under tables as gunshots were fired

As journalists and politicians cowered under tables at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, one man sat calmly and enjoyed his meal.

Michael Glantz, a senior agent at Creative Artists Agency, was captured calmly picking up the salad still on his plate and putting it in his mouth after suspected gunman Cole Allen, 31, opened fire at the glitzy event.

The images went viral on social media as some netizens said they were related to the man.

‘NEVER miss the opportunity to eat a nice piece of lobster,’ wrote one X user.

Another suggested: ‘This old man doesn’t know what’s going on. But he knows he wants his cake.’

But Glantz said he was unimpressed by the commotion and wanted to see what happened as Secret Service agents caught and arrested Allen, who police said entered the annual dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel with two guns and a knife.

‘I’m a New Yorker. As you know, we live with constant sirens and activities. So it didn’t bother me that much,’ he told the Daily Mail.

He also said he was just a few feet away from the podium where the president was sitting when the commotion began.

The unidentified man did not appear concerned as he put the food into his mouth.

At this point the burrata salad had already been served.

‘I don’t usually eat greens, so I was having cheese on top – it was burrata! “And then all of a sudden, I saw these men, heavily armed and wearing bulletproof vests, charging into the room, and I just watched eating burrata,” Glantz recounted.

‘They literally went from table to table, some on the tables, and they were very quick to move the dignitaries out of the room.’

When asked later why he didn’t hide like his colleagues, Glantz said he had a bad back and ‘it would be harder to get up than to go down.’

Also, he’s not a fan of dirt.

‘So, this is going to sound a little corny. And it’s funny, you know, but I’m good at it. I’m a hygiene freak. “The thought of walking down one floor of the Hilton in my new tuxedo is disgusting,” Glantz said.

‘And then I saw some people walking and they had crap and food on their aprons because they were on the ground. ‘I think I made the right decision.’

He noted that many people were shaken by the experience and did not want to “make light of what happened.”

“But you know, this will be another memory that I will never forget,” said the manager, adding that he had attended the Correspondents’ Dinner at least 15 times before and decided to attend the event this year even though he had not been there for years.

‘And now I can be known as the Burrata Man!’

The joyful moment came as Secret Service agents caught up and arrested 31-year-old Cole Allen after he allegedly passed through a security checkpoint inside the hotel.

President Donald Trump and Melania appeared on stage with other members of his cabinet just before gunshots rang out and chaos ensued.

A Secret Service agent was injured when his bulletproof vest was shot and was expected to recover.

Eerie security footage from inside the hotel showed Allen entering the Correspondents’ Dinner dressed in black with a gun in his hand.

In the clip that Trump shared on Truth Social shortly after the incident, security guards are seen standing in the hallway until Allen is attacked by the checkpoint.

The guards immediately drew their guns and ran after him, before pinning him to the ground and handcuffing him.

The annual black-tie gala dinner, which brings together politicians and journalists, had barely started when the Secret Service was forced to take action when a series of gunshots rang out around 8:15 p.m.

First Lady Melania Trump looks stunned before she and the president are escorted out of the room after gunshots ring out

Multiple agents rushed to the stage to ensure the safety of the president and other senior staff before others jumped into the crowd and carried cabinet members to safety.

Allen faces charges of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

He is expected to appear in federal court on Monday.

If convicted, Allen could face up to 20 years in prison for the assault, while the weapons charges could carry a minimum of 10 years in prison and a life sentence.

Since the shooting, Allen’s chilling manifesto has emerged, showing he is not a Trump fan.

Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” in the manifesto he sent to his family 10 minutes before opening fire.

Guests are seen hiding after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are hastily removed from the dinner

According to the New York Post, Allen’s manifesto read: ‘Turning the other cheek is for times when you’re under pressure. I am not someone who was raped in a detention camp. I am not a fisherman who was executed without trial.

‘I am not a blown-up schoolboy or a starving child or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. It is not Christian behavior to turn the other cheek when *someone else* is under pressure; It means being a party to the crimes of the oppressor.

‘To minimize damage, I will use lead instead of slug (less penetration through walls).

‘If it were absolutely necessary, I’d still call most people here to achieve the objectives (based on the fact that most people *choose* to attend the conversation of a pedophile, rapist and traitor and are therefore complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to this.’

His targets included (but did not include) administrative officials [FBI Director Kash] Patel): These are the objectives prioritized from highest to lowest.’

Allen wrote, allegedly referring to the president: ‘I will no longer allow a pedophile, rapist and traitor to cover my hands with his crimes.’