{"id":2595757,"date":"2026-04-27T15:30:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cole-allen-tied-to-left-wing-activist-group-the-wide-awakes\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T15:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:33:00","slug":"cole-allen-tied-to-left-wing-activist-group-the-wide-awakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cole-allen-tied-to-left-wing-activist-group-the-wide-awakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Cole Allen tied to left-wing activist group the Wide Awakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcole-allen-tied-to-left-wing-activist-group-the-wide-awakes%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2595757&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Cole Allen, the suspect in the alleged shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner, is reported to have suspected ties to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/womens-soccer-team-apologizes-for-removing-banner-criticizing-florida-education-bill\/\" title=\"Women&#039;s Soccer Team Apologizes for Removing Banner Criticizing Florida Education Bill\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-lawmaker-pushes-sex-ed-overhaul-teaching-gender-identity-to-5-year-olds-anal-sex-to-11-year-olds\/\" title=\"New York Lawmaker Pushes Sex Ed Overhaul: Teaching \u2018Gender Identity\u2019 To 5-Year-Olds, \u2018Anal Sex\u2019 To 11-Year-Olds\">left-wing activist group<\/a> called<\/a> the Wide Awakes, which emphasizes racial justice.<\/p>\n<p>The article says Allen\u2019s sister told the Secret Service he was part of the Wide awakes. It then explains that the Wide Awakes originally referenced a Civil War-era Republican-adjacent youth movement in the 1860s that escorted prominent speakers (including Abraham Lincoln) with torchlight pageantry. Over time, the original group declined and disbanded, tho ancient accounts note the movement\u2019s supporters sometimes faced criticism for intimidating voters.<\/p>\n<p>In modern times, the Wide Awakes are described as a left-wing revival that grew out of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyle-rittenhouse-acquitted-of-all-charges\/\" title=\"Kyle Rittenhouse Acquitted of All Charges\">2020 racial justice protests<\/a>, using abolitionist and liberation-centered themes along with similar iconography and \u201cwoke\u201d-style language.Organizers and artists associated with the movement have produced visuals and guidance for activism, including Election-related efforts in Georgia in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The article also notes that little is known for sure about Allen\u2019s involvement: a Seattle arts nonprofit connected to the Wide Awakes resurgence says it had never heard of him and that he has no affiliation with their association. It adds that Allen reportedly made \u201cradical statements,\u201d frequently criticized Trump online, attended at least one related protest, and once donated to a 2024 presidential campaign.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Cole Allen, the alleged gunman accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner over the weekend, has suspected ties to a left-wing activist group organized around racial justice.<\/p>\n<p>Allen\u2019s sister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/who-are-the-wide-awakes-what-we-know-about-group-tied-to-cole-allen-11880253\">reportedly<\/a> told the Secret Service that he was part of the Wide Awakes, a progressive revival of an abolitionist organization that formed during the 1860 presidential race in support of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abraham-lincoln\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2373\">Abraham Lincoln<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4544533\/whca-suspect-tied-left-wing-activist-group-wide-awakes\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WHCA dinner suspect tied to left-wing activist group the Wide Awakes<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4544370\/florida-chatgpt-usf-murder-investigation-suspect-asked-body-disposal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida adds ChatGPT to USF murder investigation after suspect asked it about body disposal<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4543635\/correspondents-dinner-shooter-manifesto-trump\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Correspondents\u2019 dinner shooter manifesto rips Trump as \u2018pedophile, rapist, and traitor\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Allen allegedly left behind a manifesto that was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/columnists\/4543839\/gunman-manifesto-anti-trump-social-media\/\">filled with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/historic-significance-of-georgia-senate-contests\/\" title=\"Historic Significance of ... Senate Contests\">left-wing rhetoric<\/a><\/a> about the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-are-the-wide-awakes\">Who are the Wide Awakes?<\/h2>\n<p>Originating within the Republican Party, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.edu\/sidedoor\/wide-awakes\">Wide Awakes<\/a> were a youth group of caped crusaders that acted as a security detail for prominent GOP speakers, including Lincoln.<\/p>\n<p>Members of the Civil War-era movement carried torches and donned black capes \u2014 to protect themselves from the dripping lantern oil \u2014 as they flanked Lincoln, who <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/club-cape-wearing-activists-helped-elect-lincoln-spark-civil-war-180984000\/\">historians say<\/a> was appreciative of the torchlit escorts but discouraged the volunteer bodyguards against escalation.<\/p>\n<p>On the day of Lincoln\u2019s election, the Wide Awakes patrolled polling places under the pretense of protecting democracy, while opponents viewed it as voter intimidation. The Wide Awakes were seen in the South more as a paramilitary unit than as a civilian police force.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4543635\/correspondents-dinner-shooter-manifesto-trump\/\"><strong>CORRESPONDENTS\u2019 DINNER SHOOTER MANIFESTO RIPS TRUMP AS \u2018PEDOPHILE, RAPIST, AND TRAITOR\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Republicans had <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.oah.org\/special-issues\/lincoln\/contents\/grinspan.html\">used<\/a> the Wide Awakes\u2019 influence as a way of \u201cwaking up\u201d young voters and increasing voter turnout among the youth. At the organization\u2019s peak, Republicans touted Wide Awake chapters in each county of every Northern state, with membership growing to more than 500,000 recruits.<\/p>\n<p>The group, however, eventually <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/articles\/000\/the-wide-awakes.htm\">disbanded<\/a> because many of its members enlisted in the Union Army.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-wide-awakes-today-a-left-wing-resurgence\">The Wide Awakes today: a left-wing resurgence<\/h2>\n<p>Today, the Wide Awakes champion social justice causes, particularly racial justice activism.<\/p>\n<p>A left-wing revival of the Wide Awakes emerged from the 2020 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/black-lives-matter\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"906\">Black Lives Matter<\/a> protests, which racial justice activists saw as a racial reckoning.<\/p>\n<p>Black artists behind the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wideawakes\/\">abolition-inspired collective<\/a> say they \u201csampled and remixed the Wide Awakes,\u201d both as an idea and as a social movement styled in the same struggle.<\/p>\n<p>A mission statement for the Wide Awakes declares it as \u201ca network of like minds who create in the name of liberation, artist sovereignty, and the evolution of society,\u201d aimed at \u201cradically reimagining the future and enabling self-emancipation.\u201d The network\u2019s tagline is \u201cIndividually we are asleep, together we are awake.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wide Awake recruitment artwork created by For Freedoms, a community partner. (Amplifier.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>One of the thought leaders who <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tv\/CCOMunglgGy\/\">helped resurrect<\/a> the Wide Awakes, a rapper known by the stage name Black Thought, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/15\/style\/wide-awakes-civil-war-activists.html\">told<\/a> the <em>New York Times<\/em> in 2020 that \u201cthroughout history, it\u2019s been the young people and creatives and intellectuals and philosophers and \u2014 just the visionaries \u2014 who understood the power in uniting, and who contributed to the greatest progress. So what the Wide Awakes represent, in my mind, is that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some political scientists credit the modern-day Wide Awakes with coining the term \u201cwoke,\u201d a slogan on the political Left signaling that one is informed about social justice issues.<\/p>\n<p>Artists affiliated with the Wide Awakes have adopted the original group\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/amplifier.org\/artworks\/wide-awake\/\">open-eye iconography<\/a> to symbolize the new wave of followers\u2019 social awakening.<\/p>\n<p>Other scholars have contextualized the contemporary Wide Awakes movement against the backdrop of protests opposing President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Manisha Sinha, a professor of American history studying the 19th-century resistance against slavery, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/10\/28\/opinions\/2020-election-biggest-since-1860-sinha\">wrote<\/a> in 2020 that \u201centhusiastic young men organized \u2018Wide Awakes,\u2019 street demonstrations in support of Lincoln and the Republican Party, much like the so-called \u2018woke\u2019 generation of Americans who have flooded the streets demanding racial justice in the Movement for Black Lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrations loosely themed after the Wide Awakes popped up in 2020, including a Juneteenth celebration in Harlem, Independence Day rallies across several major U.S. cities, an observance of the 19th Amendment\u2019s centennial passage in Brooklyn, and an anniversary march in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"260\">Washington, D.C.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In 2018, a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >small group began staging reenactments<\/a> of the 1860s torchlight processions for the Remembrance Day parade in Gettysburg, an annual event that commemorates Lincoln\u2019s famous address.<\/p>\n<p>Organizers started developing prototypes for newly reimagined Wide Awake capes, drawing inspiration from the original oilcloth.<\/p>\n<p>Some supporters of the Wide Awakes\u2019 rebirth have expressed hesitance about its aesthetics, especially the optics of torch-wielding vigilantes marching through the streets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looked like maybe a group of guys that I wouldn\u2019t want to run into on the street,\u201d Wildcat Ebony Brown, a Wide Awaker, said in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/15\/style\/wide-awakes-civil-war-activists.html\">an interview<\/a> with the <em>New York Times<\/em>. \u201cWhite men with torches. I mean, it kind of conjures up feelings of Charlottesville. But then you learn, like, Oh, no, actually they were abolitionists.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wide Awake poster created by Amplifier Labs. (Amplifier.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Beyond protesting, the Wide Awakes were involved in canvassing for Democrats during Georgia\u2019s 2021 election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Leaders of the Wide Awakes created <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1bChXEvylIhSBVHgXZ1c1nfxeegpVdVd2GWrGuDnPytw\/edit?tab=t.0\">an activism toolkit<\/a>, which was revised after Saturday\u2019s shooting, that directed its members to volunteer with Fair Fight Action, the political organization founded by failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and to support the Senate bids of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in that year\u2019s Georgia runoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Wide Awakers were instructed to bring \u201cCivic Joy\u201d to polling locations in counties \u201cvulnerable to long lines and voter suppression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carly Fischer, an \u201cimpact strategist\u201d for the Wide Awakes, announced at <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/read-up-act-up-autumn-2020\/article\/50410\/1\/read-up-act-up-autumn-2020-wide-awakes-guest-edit\">a 2020 roundtable<\/a> that the movement\u2019s founders are \u201cinterested in not just (talking about) electoral politics, but looking at the paradigm of the United States \u2014 slavery as the basis of the economic system.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-allen-s-reported-connections-to-the-wide-awakes\">Allen\u2019s reported connections to the Wide Awakes<\/h2>\n<p>Not much is initially known about Allen\u2019s reported affiliation with the Wide Awakes.<\/p>\n<p>Amplifier.org, a Seattle-based arts nonprofit group that produced visuals for the Wide Awakes resurgence project, posted <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/amplifier.org\/campaigns\/wide-awakes\/\">a statement<\/a> on its website declaring that Allen is not involved with the organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had never heard of Cole Allen before yesterday and he has never had any affiliation with our organization,\u201d the statement said. \u201cOur hearts go out to those affected by the shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4543606\/what-to-know-cole-thomas-allen-trump-shooting\/\"><strong>WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT COLE THOMAS ALLEN, THE TRUMP DINNER SHOOTING SUSPECT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Allen\u2019s sister told authorities on Sunday her brother often made \u201cradical statements\u201d and frequently referenced plans to do \u201csomething\u201d to fix what he saw as problems in the country.<\/p>\n<p>A frequent user of Bluesky, where he often complained about Trump, Allen is believed to have attended a \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest in California and once <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4543555\/suspect-trump-dinner-shooting-kamala-harris\/\">donated<\/a> to the 2024 presidential campaign of former Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cole Allen is suspected of ties to the left-wing Wide Awakes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3767,"featured_media":2595758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wHCAD_Suspect_1-33copy-e1777313059544.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[78682,78676,71419,56429,78681],"class_list":["post-2595757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-19th-century-u-s-history","tag-cole-allen","tag-left-wing-activism-2","tag-political-movements","tag-wide-awakes"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wHCAD_Suspect_1-33copy-e1777313059544.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2595757"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2595761,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595757\/revisions\/2595761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2595758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2595757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2595757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2595757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}