Latest attempt on Trump’s life raises unsettling question about higher eduction
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The California man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was highly educated and worked as a teacher; This profile raises an uncomfortable question about the role of education in shaping character, one university president said.
Cole Allen, 31, earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, last year. That doesn’t fit the typical resume of a presidential assassin, but a troubling shift appears to be afoot, according to Cornerstone University President Gerson Moreno-Riaño.
“A disturbing trend that has emerged is the trend towards ‘trained assassins’ who do not fit the typical profile of people who commit such heinous acts,” Moreno-Riaño said. “These individuals are often educated at some of America’s most elite institutions and are driven by a perverted philosophical belief that sees the killing of others as justified rather than evil.”
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A photo of Cole Allen in his graduation gown and hat from 2025. (Cole Allen/LinkedIn)
“My concern for many years has been that not only some of these activists, but also violent activists, are among the most highly educated people in our country,” he said. “When education stops educating, when it stops educating, when it becomes ideological, when it starts brainwashing, when it starts brainwashing, it is no longer education… That is a very different thing.”
Prosecutors say Allen, who is in federal custody, targeted Trump and cabinet officials during the April 25 incident. He allegedly wrote a damning manifesto and left what authorities described as an extensive digital trail that showed weeks of planning.
In addition to his advanced training, Allen joined training company C2 Education in March 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. A Facebook post from the company on Dec. 30, 2024, congratulated “Cole Allen of C2 Education Torrence” as teacher of the month.
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Law enforcement personnel take into custody Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2026. (Donald J Trump via Reuters via Truth Social/Handout)
Secret Service Director Sean Curran told Fox News on Thursday that Allen shot an agent in the chest while “striking through security” and that the bullet was stopped by the agent’s bulletproof vest.
The agent missed five shots, Curran said, adding that the agent was the only person other than Allen to fire a gun during the incident. Allen is believed to have tripped and fallen, causing Secret Service agents to surround and subdue him.
Defense attorneys argue prosecutors lack basic physical evidence and dispute some aspects of how the incident was described. In a defense brief, Allen was described as a “devout Christian,” a highly educated man with no criminal history, and a “loved and respected teacher.”
But Moreno-Riaño cautioned that credentials and professional roles do not necessarily reflect deeper moral foundations.
“Universities have rejected the centrality of God, a theistic Christian worldview, but nothing has replaced it,” he said.
“There is no moral compass for universities and education today. It doesn’t exist either.”
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A Secret Service agent opens fire on Cole Allen, who is suspected of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Taken from Washington Post)
He added that parents need to take a more active role in understanding what their children are being taught.
“Parents can no longer just abandon their students” and assume that that is where the responsibility ends, Moreno-Riaño said.
Moreno-Riaño also said that people who commit such actions may hide their intentions, making them difficult to detect in advance.
“Our entire life as a whole, everything we do in private, everything we do in secret, has a significant impact on what we do in public,” he said.
Allen’s next hearing will be held on May 11.
According to Moreno-Riaño, this situation points to a moral concern.
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“There is a crisis of morality, a crisis of faith,” he said. “Without that, all we give students is just information. And that doesn’t mean giving them guidance and moral direction.”
Fox News Digital’s Alex Koch, Asra Q. Nomani, Jake Gibson, Julia Bonavita and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this reporting.
