Patricia Heaton is asking the left to tone down the rhetoric after the WHCA shooting
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Patricia Heaton is asking her “friends on the left” to tone down the inflammatory political rhetoric following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, first lady Melania Trump and other senior officials were evacuated from the Washington Hilton after shots were fired near the football stadium. after the gunman opened fire on Secret Service agents in the lobby before he was found and taken into custody.
When the shots rang out, hundreds of attendees ducked under tables or hid inside the ballroom before being evacuated, and the event was postponed.
On Sunday, Heaton, 68, wrote in X that although he disagrees with former Democratic presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, he believes that critics of political leaders should refuse to talk about extreme violence.
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“I was not happy when Clinton, Obama or Biden won, but I did not call them a fascist / danger / threat to democracy. I did not believe that someone could kill them. I went on with my life with gratitude. Friends on the left, please try this. Your life and our country will be better,” said the star of “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
Patricia Heaton has called on her “friends on the left” to reject violent political propaganda following the shooting of White House Correspondents. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)
On Sunday, senior law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News that the suspect told law enforcement he intended to target Trump administration officials.
Authorities identified the suspect as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., adding that he had prepared a manifesto outlining his mission and shared anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on social media.
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As the WHCA continued, Allen allegedly rushed to the Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton while armed with multiple weapons and opened fire, hitting a Secret Service officer in his vest.
The agents returned fire and tackled Allen to the ground. The suspect and the injured police officer were taken to the hospital. The Secret Service agent is expected to make a full recovery and be released from the hospital on Sunday.
The incident adds to a growing list of threats against President Donald Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and the latest incident involving an armed robber at Mar-a-Lago.
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The White House said Sunday that Allen’s brother contacted the New London Police Department in Connecticut before the incident, and reported that Allen had sent family members a manifesto expressing his intention to target administration officials.
Officials also said Allen’s social media posts included anti-Trump and anti-Christian comments.
Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told investigators in Rockville, Marylandthat his brother had spoken strong words and often talked about doing “something” to solve the world’s problems.
The suspect, identified as Cole Allen, 31, allegedly said he intended to target Trump administration officials. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
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Heaton has previously spoken out against inflammatory political rhetoric. After the murder of Charlie Kirk in September 2025, Heaton called out what he saw as the hypocrisy of the behavior of people who celebrated or mocked Kirk’s death online,
“The most violent comments always come from people with phrases like ‘choose kindness’ in their bios,” he tweeted at the time.
Heaton has spoken out against the “fear mongering” of political pundits. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
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After the 2024 presidential election, Heaton criticized political pundits for “fear mongering” and undermining voters during the election by telling them that Trump threatened their way of life.
“To all these zealots who are allowed television time, who told women that this is what will happen to them, shame on you! video posted on X in November 2024.
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“Obviously, there are really vulnerable people here that you’re targeting, and you’re scared and you need to get back on the air and tell them things are going to be okay, tell them to be okay.”
“And stop saying that people who voted differently than you are ‘educated’,” he continued. “Learn your lesson by anointing people who vote differently than you, who have different needs than you, who have legitimate grievances. Stop dismissing them as uneducated. When will you learn?”
