THE GUARDIAN: Questions raised about political violence, security and gun control after brazen attack at event attended by top officials
A stunned Washington faced searching questions about political violence and gun control on Sunday after shots were fired at a prestigious media gala attended by Donald Trump and senior White House officials.
A man targeted a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel the previous night before being tackled and arrested. Trump and Melania Trump were rushed out of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner as guests dived for cover under tables.
The chaotic events raised fresh questions about the security of top officials, many of whom were gathered in the hotel’s expansive ballroom. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, told NBC’s Meet the Press programme: “It does appear that he did in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president.”
The brazen assault at the Hilton – the same hotel where then president Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 – also occurred against a backdrop of surging political violence and an epidemic of gun violence in the US.
Trump himself has often been criticised as an accelerant of vitriolic and incendiary discourse. Over the past 10 years he has called on a crowd to “knock the crap out” of protesters, urged supporters to “fight like hell” following his 2020 election defeat and mused that crime could be ended in “one really violent day” if police were allowed to be “extraordinarily rough” without fear of retribution. » | David Smith in Washington | Sunday, April 26, 2026
