The man accused of trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner allegedly wrote a manifesto saying he planned to target Trump administration officials. According to a copy of “manifesto” obtained by CBS News, 31-year-old Cole Allen said he wanted to go after officials in order, starting from the highest-ranking members and moving downward, but left FBI Director Kash Patel out of the list.

He also wrote that police officers, hotel workers and guests were not his intended targets. However, he said he was prepared to hurt them if they got in his way. He added, “I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”

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Armed suspect Cole Allen charged at security checkpoint

Officials said Allen charged at a security checkpoint outside the dinner venue carrying a shotgun, a handgun and knives.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Trump and other administration officials were quickly moved out of the event. The dinner was cancelled soon after the incident. Sources told CBS News that Allen’s brother became worried after receiving the email and called police in Connecticut on Saturday night.

Authorities later found more writings at Allen’s home in Torrance, California, and inside his 10th-floor room at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner was taking place.

What was the motive? Suspect describes in alleged manifesto

In the section where he explained his motive, Allen used abusive language and wrote that he was no longer willing to let “a paedophile, rapist, and traitor” reflect on him through the actions of his elected representatives. He said he was acting as a US citizen who felt responsible for what his government does, and claimed he had wanted to act for a long time but had only now found what he called a real opportunity. Later in the message, he repeated those same insults while saying he would push through anyone necessary to reach his intended targets, accusing people attending the event of being complicit.

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Officials were targets, with one exception

Allen reportedly said he was acting because he did not want the administration’s alleged “crimes” to “coat his hands.” He did not mention Trump or the dinner directly by name, but wrote that he wanted to target officials from the top down.

He added one exception,  “not including Mr Patel,” believed to be a reference to the FBI director, who was also at the event. Allen also said he did not plan to attack Secret Service agents, Capitol Police or National Guard troops unless necessary.

He wrote, “I hope they are wearing body armour.”

One Secret Service officer was shot during the incident. Officials said the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest and was released from the hospital on Sunday. Allen reportedly said he chose buckshot instead of slugs in an attempt to reduce harm to others, writing that it would mean less chance of bullets going through walls.

WHCD shooter defends action in email

The writings also included possible objections people may have raised, along with his own responses. In one section, Allen referred to being mixed race and questioned why he should be the one doing this, before answering that he did not see anyone else stepping up.

In another section, he mentioned being Christian and the idea of “turning the other cheek.” He argued that the phrase applies when someone personally faces oppression. He then listed imagined victims dealing with hardship and blamed the administration for some of their struggles. He also wrote that he did not expect forgiveness, but claimed he saw no other way to get that close to officials.

Investigators, cited by CBS, said the email had a matter-of-fact tone, with moments of dark humour. “Hello everybody!” Allen reportedly wrote. “So I may have given a lot of people a surprise today.”

Allen also said sorry to co-workers and students after telling them he had a personal emergency. He wrote that by the time people read the message, he might need medical treatment because of injuries he described as self-inflicted.

Criticised hotel security

Toward the end of the email, Allen reportedly mocked security arrangements. He questioned what the Secret Service was doing and claimed there was poor security during transport, at the hotel and inside the event.

He also said that if he had been working for Iran, he could have brought in a machine gun without being noticed. Because the Washington Hilton remained open as a working hotel during the dinner, only specific areas tied to the event were secured, not the whole building.

Family raised concerns after attack

After the attempted attack, Allen’s sister told investigators he often used radical language. She said he sometimes spoke about doing “something” to fix problems he believed existed in society, federal law and inside the White House.

More than 2,500 people attended Saturday’s gala, which celebrates the First Amendment and the role of the press. Trump had skipped the dinner every year during his presidency except this one. He has since said he wants to reschedule the event within the next 30 days.