Patricia Heaton calls on left to tone down rhetoric after WHCA shooting
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Patricia Heaton is calling on her “friends on the left” to tone down heated political discourse following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, First Lady Melania Trump and other senior officials were evacuated from the Washington Hilton after shots were fired near the ballroom. after a gunman exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents in the lobby before being subdued and taken into custody.
When the shots were fired, hundreds of attendees took shelter under tables or took cover in the ballroom before being evacuated, and the event was later postponed.
On Sunday, Heaton, 68, wrote in X that while he disagrees with past Democratic presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, he believes critics of political leaders should reject extreme language and violence.
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“I wasn’t happy when Clinton, Obama or Biden won, but I didn’t call them fascist/dangerous/threat to democracy. I didn’t hope someone would assassinate them. I moved on with my life with gratitude. Friends on the left, please try this. Your life and our country will be better,” the “Everybody Loves Raymond” star said.
Patricia Heaton has called on her “friends on the left” to reject violent political rhetoric following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)
On Sunday, senior federal law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News that the suspect told law enforcement he planned to target Trump administration officials.
Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, Calif., who wrote a manifesto outlining his goals and posted anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on social media.
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As the WHCA continued, Allen allegedly ran to the Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton with multiple weapons and opened fire, attacking a Secret Service officer in his ballistic vest.
Agents returned fire, knocking Allen to the ground. The suspect and the injured police officer were taken to the hospital. The Secret Service agent is expected to make a full recovery and was released from the hospital Sunday.
The incident adds to a growing list of threats against President Donald Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and a recent incident involving an armed intruder at Mar-a-Lago.
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The White House said Sunday that Allen’s brother contacted the New London Police Department in Connecticut before the shooting and sent an alleged manifesto to Allen’s family members outlining his intention to target administration officials.
Authorities also said Allen’s social media contained anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric.
Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told investigators in Rockville: marylandShe said her brother was making increasingly radical statements and often talked about doing “something” to solve the world’s problems.
One suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, allegedly said he planned to target Trump administration officials. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
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Heaton has previously spoken out against inflammatory political rhetoric. Following the murder of Charlie Kirk in September 2025, Heaton expressed what he saw as the moral hypocrisy of people celebrating or mocking Kirk’s death online:
“The most violent rhetoric always comes from people who have phrases like ‘choose kindness’ in their bios,” he tweeted at the time.
Heaton has previously spoken out against the “fear mongering” of political pundits. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
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Following the 2024 presidential election, Heaton accused political pundits of “spreading fear” and disparaging voters during the election cycle, saying Trump was a threat to their way of life.
“To all these extremists who are allowed to watch television and tell women this is what will happen to them, shame on you! Shame on you!” he said Video sent to X In November 2024.
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“It seems like there are some really vulnerable people here that you’re targeting and scaremongering, and you need to go back on the air and tell them it’s going to be okay, tell them they’re okay.”
“Also, stop saying people who vote differently than you are ‘uneducated,'” he continued. “Learn your damn lesson about slandering people who vote differently than you, who have different needs than you, who have legitimate grievances. Stop dismissing them as uneducated. When will you learn?”
