Latest attempt on Trump’s life raises unsettling question about higher eduction

The California man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was highly educated and had worked as a tutor, a profile that a university president says raises a troubling question about the role of education in shaping character.

Cole Allen, 31, earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills last year. That doesn’t fit the typical resume of a potential presidential assassin, but a disturbing change appears to be afoot, according to Cornerstone University President Gerson Moreno-Riaño.

“A troubling trend that seems to be emerging is that of ‘educated assassins,’ individuals who do not fit the typical profile of people who commit such heinous acts,” Moreno-Riaño said. “These individuals are often educated at some of the most elite institutions in America and act out of a perverse philosophical belief that views the killing of others not as wrong, but as justified.”

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A photo of Cole Allen in a graduation gown and cap from 2025. (Cole Allen/LinkedIn)

“What has concerned me for many, many years is that some of these activists, but also violent activists, are perhaps some of the most educated in our country,” he said. “When education stops educating, when it is ideological, when it is brainwashing, when it is indoctrination, it is no longer education… It is something very different.”

Prosecutors say Allen, who remains in federal custody, targeted Trump and Cabinet officials during the April 25 incident. He allegedly wrote a damning manifesto and left what authorities described as a vast digital trail showing weeks of planning.

In addition to his graduate studies, Allen joined tutoring company C2 Education in March 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. A December 30, 2024 Facebook post from the company congratulated “Cole Allen of C2 Education Torrence” as Teacher of the Month.

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Law enforcement arrests Cole Tomas Allen, suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC, April 25, 2026. (Donald J Trump via Truth Social/Handout via Reuters)

Secret Service Director Sean Curran told Fox News on Thursday that Allen shot an agent in the chest as he “charged through security,” with the bullet stopped by the agent’s body armor.

Curran said the officer returned five missed shots, adding that the officer was the only person other than Allen to discharge a weapon during the incident. Allen is believed to have tripped and fell, prompting Secret Service agents to surround and subdue him.

Defense attorneys say prosecutors are missing key physical evidence and dispute aspects of how the incident was characterized. A defense memo described Allen as a “devout Christian,” a highly educated man with no criminal history and a “loved and respected teacher.”

But Moreno-Riaño cautioned that professional qualifications and roles do not necessarily reflect deeper moral foundations.

“Universities have rejected the centrality of God, a theistic, Christian worldview, but nothing has taken its place,” he said.

“There is no moral compass for universities and for education today. It simply does not exist.”

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A Secret Service agent shoots Cole Allen, suspected of involvement in the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

He added that parents should take a more active role in understanding what their children are learning.

“Parents can no longer just drop off their student” and assume the buck stops there, Moreno-Riaño said.

Moreno-Riaño also said that people who commit such acts may hide their intentions, making them difficult to identify in advance.

“Our whole life, whatever we do in private, whatever we do in secret, has a significant impact on what we do in public,” he said.

Allen’s next hearing is scheduled for May 11.

For Moreno-Riaño, this case reveals a moral concern.

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“There is a crisis of morality, a crisis of faith,” he said. “Without that, all we give students is just information. And it doesn’t give them advice or moral guidance.”

Alex Koch, Asra Q. Nomani, Jake Gibson, Julia Bonavita and Peter D’Abrosca of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.