Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich recounted the chaos from the dais of Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner when a gunman tried to force his way into the ballroom event hosting the president and his administration.
Armed U.S. Secret Service agents rushed the stage of the event to evacuate President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other senior administration officials in attendance after shots were fired as the suspect reportedly attempted to force his way past a security checkpoint. Heinrich, a member of the board of the White House Correspondents’ Association, recalled what happened on the dais in the moments after the shots were fired. (RELATED: ‘I Just Want To Go Home’: Erika Kirk Seen Sobbing After Trump Assassination Attempt Months After Husband Murdered)
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“We weren’t sure at the moment, you know, if the threat was contained, and it took them some time, understandably, to ensure that there were not other threats in the room. This wasn’t some sort of a coordinated event,” Heinrich told “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-hosts Rachel Campos-Duffy, Charlie Hurt, and Griff Jenkins. “And so being up there on the stage and just seeing the throng of law enforcement coming toward us, not knowing in the moment what it was, and then having Secret Service agents come out from behind us on the stage and swoop the vice president off the stage from next to me, I was laying there for a few minutes, not really knowing what was going on. And the scariest part for me was hearing the agents with their guns drawn standing over me talking to each other and saying, ‘Do you see it? Are you tracking it?’ and having the other one answer ‘No.’”
“And in that moment — we didn’t know if it was because there was no threat or they just couldn’t get their eyes on it — and that’s when I got the nod from the agent that I could crawl — in my dress — behind the stage, the backstage area, where we waited for more updates,” Heinrich continued.
The suspect, identified by police as Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, Calif., was taken into custody by law enforcement after a brief exchange of gunfire which left one Secret Service agent wounded. Allen faces charges of using a firearm in a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer.
President Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign. He was wounded when a gunman fired shots during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., then was targeted by Ryan Welsey Routh while playing a round of golf Sept. 15 in Florida.
Heinrich also discussed Trump’s suggestion to reschedule the banquet within the next 30 days, admitting it could be a challenge since the annual event takes a year to plan. Trump expressed his desire to remain at the venue and deliver his planned remarks at the event — the first he attended as president — but instead departed for the White House at the urging of the Secret Service after the agency invoked protection protocols.
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