Suspected WHCD shooter and another would-be Trump assassin have a lot in common — and it's not just Ukraine

Nine weeks after Thomas Matthew Crooks' attempt on Donald Trump's life at a July 13, 2024, rally in Pennsylvania, Ryan Routh tried his hand at assassinating then-candidate Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Cole Allen, identified as the suspect who opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday night, appears to share much in common with Routh.

'I'm a random Californian guy.'

Besides making donations to the same party and obsessing over the same foreign power, both Routh — who was sentenced in February to life in prison over his attempted assassination of Trump — and Allen were apparently radicalized in recent years with the help of Democrats' incendiary rhetoric.

Donations and slogans

Although not a registered member of a political party for decades, Routh, a 60-year-old North Carolina native, made multiple donations to support Democrats beginning in 2019 and voted in North Carolina's Democratic primary in March 2024.

In addition to supporting Democrats monetarily and at the ballot box, Routh supported their divisive narrative.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats not only characterized Trump and other Republicans as fascists and imminent threats to the republic ahead of the 2024 election but repeatedly claimed that "democracy is on the ballot in November."

In some instances, Harris — who joked in 2018 about Trump dying — coupled this claim with combative language, stating that democracy "is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it" and painting a target on Trump by referring to him as a would-be "dictator."

Then-President Joe Biden was far less subtle, stating on a July 8, 2024, phone call with donors, "We're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in a bull's-eye."

RELATED: Stunning new details reveal the 'depraved' motivation of the suspected WHCD shooter

FBI outside a home associated with the suspected WHCAD shooter in Torrance, California. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Routh accepted this alarmist view, sometimes repeating Democrats' slogan verbatim.

On April 22, 2024, for instance, Routh tweeted to then-President Joe Biden, writing, "@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA ... make Americans slave again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way."

Allen, like Routh, contributed a modest donation to at least one Democratic cause, a Harris-supporting Democratic PAC in October 2024, reported the Associated Press.

The suspected WHCAD shooter, who was reportedly engaged in political activism in recent years and a member of the leftist group "the Wide Awakes," also amplified unhinged anti-Trump messaging from Democrats online.

The investigative journalist behind the Substack Kanekoa News reported that ahead of the 2024 election, a X user believed to be Allen repeatedly shared alarmist social media posts on X from Kamala Harris, Democratic lawmakers, liberal media personalities, and the anti-Trump propaganda outfit MeidasTouch and amplified liberal characterizations of Trump as a fascist or Nazi.

Allen's alleged manifesto and the Bluesky account ascribed to Allen are replete with evidence suggesting that he continued to stew in alarmist Democratic propaganda in the time since the 2024 election.

For instance, the Bluesky user believed to be Allen — the handle is @coldforce.bsky.social, and Cole allegedly signed his manifesto "Cole 'coldForce' 'Friendly Federal Assassin' Allen" — shared a post from Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) earlier this month claiming that Trump "is deranged, unstable, and unfit to lead," as well as a post from Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D) that stated Trump "must be impeached and removed from office" and "Republicans who don't stop him will have blood on their hands."

Ukraine obsession

Routh was unmistakably a Ukraine obsessive.

The would-be assassin:

• ran a website called "Fight for Ukraine," which details various ways — including unlawful ways — people could supposedly go to fight as mercenaries in Ukraine;
• pleaded online with Western defense officials and organizations to allow Afghan mercenaries into Ukraine;
• demonstrated in support of Ukraine's infamous Azov Brigade;
• self-published a book in 2023 titled "Ukraine's Unwinnable War" detailing his unsuccessful attempts to aid Ukraine's war effort; and
• asserted on X that he was "going to fight and die for Ukraine."

The social media accounts ascribed to Allen — who allegedly stated in the manifesto, "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes" — provide evidence of a similar obsession with Ukraine and its efforts to repel Russian forces.

For starters, the bio for Allen's alleged Bluesky account states, "I'm a random Californian guy with posts about American politics, support for Ukraine, and observations of small creatures."

The Bluesky user believed to be Allen also shared Ukrainian military fundraiser posts, updates on Russian attacks, and multiple posts insinuating that Trump is in league with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While highly critical of Trump, the user also directed Ukraine-related ire toward Vice President JD Vance.

At a Turning Point USA event on April 14, Vance recalled how his advocacy for ending funding for the Ukraine war ruffled feathers, then noted he was proud of the Trump administration's refusal to continue "buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore."

This evidently enraged the Bluesky user believed to be Cole, who wrote, "He's proud that we don't uphold our commitments[;] what a piece of s**t."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!