The 31-year-old gunman who disrupted the White House Correspondents' Association dinner is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told multiple news outlets Sunday. Shots fired outside the hotel ballroom triggered a chaotic scene inside, with President Trump hastily evacuated. While the president was not in immediate danger, the incident adds to a series of close calls that no modern president has faced.
Officials believe the suspect traveled from California to Chicago and then to Washington by train, checking into the hotel where much of the nation's power structure would soon gather. Blanche said on ABC's 'This Week' that the suspect checked in on Friday. His motive remains under investigation, but acting officials are not pursuing changes to gun laws in response.
Blanche told CBS's 'Face the Nation' that tightening gun laws isn't the right response, even as it was revealed the suspect brought multiple firearms via train and appears to have legally purchased the weapons over the past couple of years. The acting attorney general faced pointed questions on how the suspect transported guns across state lines without security checks.
'The system worked,' Blanche said, noting Secret Service and law enforcement protected attendees. The man barely got past the perimeter, he added. The tone marks a sharp contrast from the fallout following security failures during the Butler, Pennsylvania, attempt on the president's life.
The acting attorney general's firm stance on gun laws stands in stark contrast to three months ago, when Republican officials suggested restricting gun rights after a deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis. The backlash from within Trump's base became a serious political problem for the White House at that time.