The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) announced on Tuesday that it has rescheduled its annual dinner for White House staff and the press, after the event in April was disrupted by a gunman opening fire while trying to force his way inside the venue.
The new dinner will take place on July 24 in Washington, D.C., WHCA President Weijia Jiang said in a letter to association members. She added that “rescheduling was not automatic,” but was a “choice that the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from our members.”
“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has served as a celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century,” Jiang said. “When gunfire interrupted this year’s event, it further clarified the WHCA’s mission to advocate for the freedoms that are protected in the First Amendment.”
“We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” she continued.
On April 25, a gunman charged a security checkpoint to the annual event and exchanged fire with officers before he was apprehended. The gunfire sparked panic and confusion in the ballroom, where the event was taking place; President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance were escorted off the stage by the Secret Service and others in attendance ducked under their tables.
The suspect, who authorities identified as Cole Tomas Allen, is facing multiple charges, including attempting to assassinate the President. Via his lawyers, he pleaded not guilty to all charges last month.
The April dinner was the first time that Trump attended the annual event while sitting in the Oval Office. In the days after the shooting, the President pushed for the dinner to be rescheduled.
On Tuesday, he took to Truth Social to react to the news of the rescheduled dinner, calling it “a sign of Strength and Fortitude.” He said that Jiang invited him to speak at the event, which he accepted. He also said that the event will be held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., though the WHCA has not yet publicly shared where the dinner will take place.
“This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling,” Trump said in his social media post.
Jiang said in her letter on Tuesday that the rescheduled dinner “will feature significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures,” adding that further details about the new measures will be shared directly with people who will be attending the event. She said that the July event “will be a more intimate gathering.”
Over the past few weeks, the WHCA has fundraised so that association members who paid for a ticket to the April event won’t have to pay for another if they choose to attend the new, rescheduled dinner, according to Jiang. Further details about the venue, tickets, and event programming will be shared at a later date.
“This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence,” Jiang said. “As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above.”
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