The White House Correspondents’ Association will give an award to the Secret Service officer who helped put a stop to the gunman who attempted to rush its annual dinner in April.
Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service officer who stopped alleged gunman Cole Allen from barging into the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel, will receive the “President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the WHCA” at the rescheduled dinner on Friday, July 24. Staff at the Washington Hilton will also receive the award.
“The WHCA is deeply grateful that law enforcement officials prevented the armed suspect from entering the ballroom,” Weijia Jiang, president of the WHCA and CBS News correspondent, said in a statement. “Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely. His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.”
The WHCA dinner on April 25 came to a sudden halt around 8:30 p.m. when Allen, a 31-year-old California man, rushed a security checkpoint to the dinner and charged toward the room packed with Washington, D.C., reporters, senior administration officials, and President Donald Trump. Days later, Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump, to which he pled not guilty. The next hearing in Allen’s case is scheduled for Aug. 20.
Gonzales was struck in his protective vest as he stopped the suspect and continued to respond to the situation as he was hit.
Gonzales joined the Secret Service in 2022. Before that, he served for five years in the Marine Corps.
“Officer Victor Gonzales’s service that evening exemplified the values that have guided him throughout his military and federal law enforcement careers,” the Secret Service said in a statement. “He embodies the core values of the Secret Service: duty, justice, courage, honesty, and loyalty, as a commitment to safeguarding his country and community.”
Trump confirmed in early June that he would attend and speak at the redo of the event, which he said would be held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C.
“This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling,” Trump typed on Truth Social in June. “I was asked to be there, and speak, by Weijia Jiang, President of The White House Correspondents’ Association, and have accepted. I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out.”