Accused White House Correspondents Dinner gunman Cole Allen professed to be a part of a progressive collective known as “The Wide Awakes” — a loosely-organized group which traces its roots to Civil War abolitionists and espouses nonviolence.
The group calls itself a modern “remix” of the organization that formed during the 1860 presidential election, and consisted of anti-slavery supporters of President Abraham Lincoln.
Original members were known for donning costumes and putting on rowdy shows of support for the Republican president, which included flashy scenes throughout New York and other northern cities during the lead-up to the momentous election preceding the Civil War.
Today’s Wide Awakes have no real connection to their namesake, but were founded in 2020 by a group of artists who wanted to use similar tactics to promote their beliefs. The said tactics include making colorful costumes, which members would wear at marches and activism events in the city.
But the group has since grown, and is now a loosely organized collection of like-minded people who continue bringing style and a sense of fun to political events.
“We are infinite, disruptive, enlightened, visionary, accountable,” a Wide Awakes website reads. “We want the radical complexity of diversity. We believe creative liberation is a game and all of us can play now and forever.”
“We can emancipate ourselves without violence,” the website adds. “We don’t need to be told what to believe or how to engage, we just need to be inspired to question what’s there. Broadening perspective yields a safer world.”
And it seems anybody can join — the group invites anyone to put on their own events or create art in their name.
“Call on local DJs, Musicians, Speakers, Organizers, and Artists to plan a joyous community gathering,” are some of the suggested ways to participate listed on the group’s website.
It’s unclear if the group has any centralized organization anymore.
Exactly how Allen was affiliated with the group also remains unclear. Officials only revealed that he considered himself to be a member.
The shooting suspect participated in the nationwide anti-Trump “No Kings” marches in March, though it’s unknown if he did so with any affiliation to The Wide Awakes.
Allen’s sister also told investigators that he frequently espoused radical political ideas and talked about wanting to do “something” to fix the world.
He was also an avid user of Blue Sky — a liberal iteration of X — where he’d made more than 1,000 posts, many of which railed on President Trump and Republicans.
Allen also allegedly sent a rambling anti-Trump manifesto to his family about 10 minutes before he tried to storm into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with a gun in Washington DC on Saturday night.
He was tackled to the ground before he could get into the ballroom, where Trump and numerous top White House officials were eating. A flurry of gunfire in the halls outside led to a rapid evacuation of the event.
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