Actress Patricia Heaton has urged her liberal friends to pull back on extreme rhetoric after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were among the top US government officials who were evacuated from the WashingtonHilton after shots were fired near the ballroom in an exchange between a gunman and Secret Service agents in the lobby.

Suspect Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is alleged to have fired multiple rounds but just struck one person who was a member of the Secret Service before being subdued and taken into custody.

The following morning, 68-year-old Heaton – who is best known for her work on popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond – took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn liberals who use extreme language and promote violence against their political adversaries.

Heaton is a known prominent conservative voice in Hollywood and has been outspoken in her support of Republican policies, pro-life views, is prideful of her Christian faith, and has expressed optimism for Trump’s administration while advocating for national unity.

The actress wrote: ‘I wasn’t happy when Clinton, Obama or Biden won, but I didn’t call them fascist/dangerous/threat to democracy. I didn’t hope someone would assassinate them. 

Actress Patricia Heaton (pictured last week) has urged her liberal friends to pull back on extreme rhetoric after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday 

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were among the top US government officials who were evacuated from the Washington FC Hilton after shots were fired near the ballroom in an exchange between a gunman and Secret Service agents in the lobby 

‘I went on with my life with gratitude. Friends on the left, please try this. Your life and our country will be better.’

Meanwhile, the suspect Allen, of Torrance in California, reportedly charged a security checkpoint at the dinner armed with a shotgun, a handgun and several knives. 

He was tackled by agents after a brief but terrifying exchange of gunfire in the hotel lobby. 

The ballroom, filled with the nation’s top journalists, Hollywood celebrities, and Cabinet members including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, became a scene of pure pandemonium.

Footage shows guests in tuxedos and evening gowns huddled under tables as Secret Service patrol the ballroom floor. 

Trump, still wearing his tuxedo, addressed the nation just two hours later. ‘When you’re impactful, they go after you,’ he said defiantly. ‘They seem to think he was a lone wolf. We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.’

The White House has confirmed that the dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days, promising an event that is ‘bigger and better.’ 

But for now, Washington remains on high alert as it grapples with yet another attempt on the President’s life. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Hines, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller and his wife Katie Miller are escorted out of the room by Secret Service agents at the shooting on Saturday

The following morning, 68-year-old Heaton – who is best known for her work on popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond – took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn liberals who use extreme language and promote violence against their political adversaries

 Heaton is a known prominent conservative voice in Hollywood and has been outspoken in her support of Republican policies, pro-life views, is prideful of her Christian faith, and has expressed optimism for Trump’s administration while advocating for national unity

She is best known for her role sarring alongside Ray Romano in highly-popular CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond which aired from 1996 to 2005

Authorities have now discovered that Allen wrote a chilling manifesto before he arrived at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner was being hosted.

Allen’s family members told law enforcement that he had sent them some of his disturbing writings before the attack, which prompted his brother to alert police. The writings did not specifically mention the dinner on Saturday, CBS News reported. 

Allen’s brother notified the New London Police Department in Connecticut of the manifesto minutes before the attack, a White House official confirmed to CNN. 

Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he had heard about the report and wished the department had informed federal authorities earlier.  

US Secret Service and Montgomery County Police also interviewed the suspect’s sister in Rockville, Maryland, a White House official told CNN. 

Allen also allegedly mocked the lack of security at the event and on his journey to Washington DC in his chilling manifesto. 

In it, he detailed his reasoning for the attack, his ‘rules of engagement’ and a ‘rant’ about how little security he encountered.

‘What the hell is the Secret Service doing?’ Allen wrote in a postscript to his manifesto. 

Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington

Suspect Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is alleged to have fired multiple rounds but just struck one person who was a member of the Secret Service before being subdued and taken into custody 

Footage shows guests in tuxedos and evening gowns huddled under tables as Secret Service patrol the ballroom floor

‘I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo. What I got (who knows, maybe they’re pranking me!) is nothing,’ he continued. 

The radicalized teacher described a ‘sense of arrogance’ at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner was held. 

‘The security at the event is all outside… because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before,’ Allen wrote.  

He said that the security was so lacking that, ‘if I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here and no one would have noticed sh**.’ 

Allen wrote that national guardsmen would only be targets if they fired at him first. Members of the National Guard are pictured responding to the shooting

Allen wrote in his manifesto that Secret Service agents would only be targets if necessary and that he would try to incapacitate them ‘non-lethally if possible.’ A Secret Service agent is pictured shouting during the shooting

Ma Deuce is a nickname for the M2 Browning .50-calibre machine gun. 

Earlier in his manifesto, Allen explained why he had attempted to break into the dinner and kill top Trump administration officials. 

‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,’ he wrote, likely in reference to President Donald Trump. He said that as a citizen of the US, what his representatives do reflects on him. 

The suspected shooter added that he had wanted to take action for a long time, ‘but this is the first real opportunity I’ve had to do something about it.’