After the gunman who tried rushing through security to kill Donald Trump and members of his administration was arrested, conspiracy theories spread online. Some even claimed that the entire thing was staged, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt serving as the ‘proof’. Now, the White House has responded.

Cole Tomas Allen charged past the security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives. He exchanged gunfire with law enforcement before he was taken down and arrested.

Sources close to the investigation tell ABC News that early evidence suggests that Allen’s plan was to target as many people as possible in a mass shooting.

On Monday, Allen was criminally charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump. Moreover, he was also charged with transportation of a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, a prosecutor said at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Many videos were spread from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as people took shelter behind tables. Donald and Melania, alongside many others in the Trump administration, were taken to safety by Secret Service agents.

Still, afterward, conspiracy theories about what really happened – and if it was real – spread online.

Social media users claimed Donald Trump assassination attempt was “staged”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sparked online speculation after she made a joke before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. One thing she said took on a chilling new meaning following the shooting.

As Leavitt spoke with Fox News ahead of the dinner, the press secretary teased what people could expect from Donald Trump’s appearance. Leavitt said he was “ready to rumble,” promising “classic Donald J. Trump” in his address, and that it will be “entertaining.”

As Karoline Leavitt referred to Donald Trump’s speech and the political roasting that many believed would follow, she said, “There will be some shots fired tonight in the room.” Now, many have been reading it as if she already knew what would take place.

One person wrote on X: “It was a planned fake assassination attempt directed by Trump, Karoline was literally saying out loud watch we need you to this so Trump polling goes back up sick monsters.”

A second added, “Tell us more, Karoline. How did you pick the guy? From central casting?”

A third said, “What an odd choice of words. Trump, so thin-skinned, he used another assassination attempt to keep from being roasted. He’s cried ‘wolf’ once too often!”

White House responds to claim that assassination attempt was “staged”
Now, the White House has responded. During a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI did a “good job” in tackling the claims that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting was “staged.”

“It is very important for us that we get the truths and the facts about this case and any case out there as quickly as possible to get some of the crazy nonsense that you see running rampant online,” Leavitt said. “The Department of Justice and the FBI thus far have done a good job of disseminating the truths and the facts about this attempted assassin,” Leavitt said.

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