A loosely organized progressive collective known as “The Wide Awakes” has denied any connection to accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Allen after reports suggested he may have been affiliated with them.
Allen, a California-based tutor and Caltech graduate, was identified by authorities as the suspect in the Saturday night attack in DC, where he allegedly attempted to target President Trump at the annual event.
Law enforcement said he was armed and opened fire inside the Washington Hilton before being subdued by Secret Service personnel.
Prosecutors have charged him with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Officials said Allen “professed to be part of a progressive collective known as ‘The Wide Awakes’,” though a spokesperson denied any affiliation.
They also noted his broader political activity, including participation in anti-Trump demonstrations and online posts critical of conservative figures.
In a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation, the Wide Awakes rejected connections to Allen and disputed claims tying him to their movement.
A spokesperson wrote in an Instagram message: “We do not know Allen he doesn’t have a connection to us as far as anyone knows,”
The group also suggested Allen may have been mistakenly associated with a separate protest event earlier this year, adding: “They are not a part of our decentralized group,”
The spokesperson was referring to a February anti-ICE demonstration in Wisconsin that reportedly used similar branding but was not formally connected to the Wide Awakes network.
The group, which describes itself as a decentralized creative activist collective, traces its inspiration to the original Wide Awakes of the 1860s — an abolitionist-aligned movement that supported Abraham Lincoln through highly visible marches and public demonstrations.
The modern iteration was revived in 2020 by artists and activists seeking to blend political expression with performance and visual art, often emphasizing nonviolence and participatory activism.
The group’s online presence promotes “creative collaboration” and encourages supporters to organize local gatherings, art events, and demonstrations under its name.
Its materials emphasize decentralization and reject formal hierarchy, which has complicated efforts to determine membership or affiliation.
On the group’s Instagram account, posts include anti-ICE messaging, including calls to defund the agency, as well as expressions of support for other movements such as “Indian land” causes and Black Lives Matter.
Allen’s alleged actions and motivations remain under investigation, according to the FBI, which is leading the case out of its Los Angeles field office.
The suspect was reportedly found with an alleged manifesto that read, “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” according to a document first reported by The Post.
The California Post has reached out to the group for further comment.
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