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WHCD shooting reveals security collapse, tests OpenAI liability

Monday, April 27, 2026 · from 2 podcasts
2 SOURCESNo AgendaBreaking Points
  • The White House Correspondents' Dinner had virtually no security, witnesses say.
  • A shooter used ChatGPT for planning, triggering a novel murder probe into OpenAI.
  • Trump is leveraging the attack to push for a new, secure White House ballroom.

The security at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was a fantasy. On a night with the president, vice president, and much of Washington’s elite in one room, guests walked into the Washington Hilton without showing ID or a ticket. According to Saagar Enjeti on Breaking Points, the entire security perimeter simply didn't exist.

Former official Simone Sanders reported walking past the presidential limousine and through the hotel lobby without a single challenge. Rep. Mike Lawler confirmed the building remained open to the public. There were no magnetometer checks. This systematic collapse allowed 31-year-old Cole Allen, a Caltech graduate and former NASA JPL fellow, to reach the inner perimeter with a makeshift shotgun, a handgun, and knives. Allen, who planned the attack for weeks, shot one Secret Service agent before being subdued.

Donald Trump used the security failure to demand construction resume on a top-secret ballroom at the White House, a project currently stalled by a local lawsuit. He framed the attack as a reason to move high-profile events out of unsecured public hotels permanently. The shooting gives him the political capital to override zoning hurdles.

While Washington reels from the physical security breach, a new legal front is opening in Florida. Attorney General James Uthmire has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI. The probe follows a mass shooting at Florida State University where the gunman consulted ChatGPT over 200 times for tactical advice, asking for the best ammunition and the ideal time to find the most victims.

On the No Agenda Show, Adam Curry explained Uthmire’s argument: if a person had provided those logistical details, they would be an accomplice to murder. OpenAI counters that the bot only provided public information, a defense that ignores the curated nature of the AI’s responses. Curry notes the company recently disbanded the safety teams designed to prevent exactly these scenarios.

The case pushes the legal concept of corporate personhood into the realm of criminal culpability. The question Uthmire is forcing is whether a corporation that has rights like a person can also be held responsible for a crime like one. It signals a shift from civil copyright fights to state-level criminal scrutiny over AI’s role in public safety.

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Source Intelligence

- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes

No Agenda Show
No Agenda Show

Adam Curry

1863 - "Nekkidly" • Apr 26

  • Florida’s Attorney General explores murder charges against OpenAI after a shooter consulted ChatGPT.
  • A shooter breached the White House Correspondents’ Dinner despite record-level security protocols.
  • Critics argue the Southern Poverty Law Center functions as a billion-dollar slander machine.
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Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar
Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

4/26/26: WHAT WE KNOW: WHCD Shooter NAMED, Security FAILURE • Apr 26

Also from this episode: (9)

Other (9)

  • A shooting occurred at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, requiring the President, Vice President, and senior officials to be rushed off stage.
  • The gunman, Cole Allen, used a makeshift shotgun and also possessed a handgun and knives. One Secret Service agent was hit in a bulletproof vest and transported to the hospital, remaining unharmed.
  • Cole Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, is a Caltech mechanical engineering graduate and former NASA JPL intern. He donated $25 to Act Blue in 2024 for "Harris for President."
  • Allen traveled from Los Angeles to D.C. via train, passing through Chicago, and booked a room at the Washington Hilton in April, checking in with weapons in his luggage.
  • The Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, controversially labeled the incident a "massive security success story," arguing the suspect barely breached the perimeter.
  • Multiple witnesses, including Simone Sanders, reported a significant lack of standard security protocols, such as un-barricaded driveways, absent ID checks, and an unsecured hotel lobby.
  • Congressman Mike Lawler criticized the security, noting no photo ID requirements, unverified attendee lists, and no magnetometers before the ballroom, despite Secret Service acting swiftly.
  • President Trump linked the shooting to the need for a large, secure ballroom on White House grounds, which he claims is under construction and faces a lawsuit from a dog walker.
  • The Washington Hilton was also the site of President Reagan's 1981 assassination attempt, adding a surreal and shocking dimension to this recent security incident.
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