White House Press Corps To Host Second Dinner After Trump Assassination Attempt

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) intends to hold a new dinner in Washington, D.C. after an assassination attempt against President Donald Trump interrupted the first one.

Weijia Jiang, WHCA president and CBS News’ Senior White House Correspondent, announced Tuesday that the association decided to hold a rescheduled dinner on July 24 in a press release obtained by the Daily Caller. Trump said the event will be held at the Waldorf Astoria in a Truth Social post later Tuesday.

Jiang noted that the “more intimate gathering” will include “significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.” (RELATED: ‘I Fought Like Hell To Stay’: Trump Addresses Assassination Attempt At White House Correspondents’ Dinner)

Shots rang out during the original April 25 correspondent’s dinner while guests were eating dinner. The Secret Service swiftly rushed Trump and other senior administration officials out of the room. Over 2,000 reporters and government officials were in attendance, according to ABC News.

Federal prosecutors charged Cole Thomas Allen May 5 with attempting to assassinate the U.S. president in connection with the incident. The Department of Justice alleged that he charged through a security blockade armed with a shotgun and other weapons in an attempt to reach the ballroom where the event was held. One Secret Service officer was injured during the alleged attempt to assassinate Trump. Prosecutors also charged him with assaulting a U.S. officer and other charges.

“Rescheduling was not automatic,” Jiang noted in the Tuesday announcement. “It was a choice that the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from our members.”

The rescheduled dinner will be “a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence,” Jiang said.

“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has served as a celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century. When gunfire interrupted this year’s event, it further clarified the WHCA’s mission to advocate for the freedoms that are protected in the First Amendment. We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” the announcement said.

Several attendees of the dinner later alleged that security at the dinner was unusually lax. The alleged would-be assassin’s manifestor claimed he had visited the hotel the day prior and was met with “no damn security” despite carrying “multiple weapons,” the New York Post reported.

The WHCA announcement Tuesday thanked “the US Secret Service, law enforcement and the hotel staff whose swift response protected our guests and our staff.”

The WHCA did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.