As journalists and politicians cowered under the tables at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, one man calmly sat and enjoyed his meal.
Michael Glantz, a top agent at Creative Artists Agency, was caught on video calmly picking at the salad still on his plate and bringing it to his mouth in the moments after suspected gunman Cole Allen, 31, opened fire at the lavish event.
The footage quickly went viral on social media, as some netizens said they related to the man.
‘NEVER miss the opportunity to tuck into a nice piece of lobster,’ one X user wrote.
Another suggested: ‘This old dude doesn’t know what’s going on. He knows he wants his cake though.’
But Glantz said he was simply unfazed by the commotion and wanted to see what was happening as Secret Service agents tackled and arrested Allen, who police say had entered the annual dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel armed with two guns and knives.
‘I’m a New Yorker,’ he told The New York Times. ‘We live with sirens and activity happening all the time. I wasn’t scared. There are hundreds of Secret Service agents hurtling themselves over tables and chairs, and I wanted to watch.’
When Glantz was later asked about his decision not to take cover, he explained that he has a ‘bad back.’
As others cowered under the tables at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, one man was seen calmly picking at his food
The unidentified man did not seem worried as he forked the food into his mouth
‘I couldn’t get on the floor, and if I did get on the floor, they’d have to bring in people to get me off the floor,’ he joked.
‘And number two, I’m a hygiene freak. There was no freaking way I was getting in my new tux on the dirty Hilton floor. It was not happening.’
President Donald Trump and Melania took to the stage with other members of his cabinet just moments before shots rang out and chaos unfolded.
One Secret Service agent was harmed when he was struck in his bulletproof vest, and was expected to recover.
In eerie surveillance footage taken from inside the hotel, Allen could be seen entering the Correspondents’ Dinner clad in all black with a gun in his hand.
The clip, shared by Trump on Truth Social shortly after the incident, saw security guards standing in the hallway until Allen charged by the checkpoint.
The guards immediately drew their weapons and darted after him before tackling him to the floor and placing him in handcuffs.
The dinner, an annual black-tie gala that brings politicians and journalists together, was barely underway when the Secret Service was forced to leap into action after a series of shots rang out around 8.15pm.
The lighthearted moment came as Secret Service agents tackled and arrested Cole Allen, 31, who allegedly charged past a security checkpoint inside the hotel
First Lady Melania Trump is seen stunned just moments before she and the president were rushed out of the room following gunshots
Several agents rushed on stage to secure the president and other high-level personnel before others jumped into the crowd and ushered cabinet members to safety.
Allen is facing charges of two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
He is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday.
If convicted, Allen could face 20 years in jail for the assault, while the weapons charges come with a minimum of ten years, with a possibility of life behind bars.
Since the shooting, Allen’s eerie manifesto has been revealed, and showed that he is not a fan of Trump.
In the manifesto, which he sent to his family just 10 minutes before he opened fire, Allen referred to himself as the ‘Friendly Federal Assassin.’
Guests are seen taking cover after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner
According to the New York Post, Allen’s manifesto read: ‘Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial.
‘I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.
‘In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls).
‘I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.’
His targets included ‘administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.’
Allen wrote, allegedly referencing the president: ‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.’
