Cole Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on April 25, allegedly participated in an activist movement called the “Wide Awakes,” authorities said.

Federal officials accuse Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, of exchanging gunfire with officers in the Washington Hilton Hotel, injuring one, near a ballroom where Trump was attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Agents caught the suspect as he dashed toward the ballroom.

Allen allegedly wrote a manifesto saying he was targeting Trump administration members at the event, a White House official told The Epoch Times.

The suspect had also attended at least one anti-Trump “No Kings” protest in California—and was part of the Wide Awakes, the official said.

That alleged connection is now part of the Justice Department’s investigation into Allen, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at an April 27 news conference.

Here is what to know about the Wide Awakes.

Who Are the Wide Awakes?

A group called the Wide Awakes formed in Hartford, Connecticut, as a Republican political club in 1860, according to the National Park Service. The group, which favored abolishing slavery, helped Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln win the presidency.

Afterward, the Civil War overshadowed the group; the Wide Awakes faded into “a curious footnote in history,” the Park Service said.

Still, the group showed youthful voters that “politics could be exciting and fun,” and demonstrated to older Americans that “young people have a place in politics, where they can decide elections and the destiny of the country.”

Inspired by that legacy, another group using that name formed in 2020. But it differs from the original 1860 movement in significant ways.

While the original Wide Awakes group was specifically tied to the Republican Party and was tightly organized, the modern one by the same name appears to be decentralized; it also seems to have no directly stated allegiance to a specific political party.

The Epoch Times was unable to identify a central spokesperson for the Wide Awakes group, and found that a number of people and groups have adopted that term over the years.

However, WideAwakes.com—which promoted the network’s 2020 launch—has used its linked Instagram account, @wideawakes, as recently as March 19.

Pro-Biden, But Not Explicitly Anti-Trump

The modern Wide Awakes network has supported progressive causes including abortion, based on posts on the Instagram account that is linked to the WideAwakes.com website.

Without mentioning Trump, the modern group—which launched just before the 2020 presidential election—posted a celebratory video on Nov. 9, 2020.

That video proclaims, “This is our democracy,” and features images of then-President-elect Joe Biden. He was declared the winner over Trump of that year’s Nov. 3 presidential election.

On Jan. 20, 2021, the date Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president, the group posted on Instagram: “Today we celebrate democracy. Tomorrow we do our part to protect it. It will take ALL of us to heal, reimagine, and rebuild America.”

And in November 2025, during Trump’s first year back in office as the 47th president, the Wide Awakes joined with others in an Instagram post promoting “No Kings Day” and “Power to the People.”

Expressed Beliefs Include Nonviolent Change

WideAwakes.com states that all people are welcome to become part of the movement; its messaging often features a stylized open-eye logo. Participants have marched in rallies wearing capes—paying homage to the 1860 group, which wore oilcloth capes to protect their clothing from the residue of their kerosene torches.

“Anyone can be a Wide Awake. Ask questions, open your eyes, and jump in,” the website states.

The Wide Awakes describe themselves as people who “believe in the evolution of society and the power to radically reimagine the future.” They favor doing so through “creative collaboration.”

Wide Awake activists also seek “liberation of mind, body, and spirit,” the website says.

Followers observe Oct. 3 as “Wide Awakes Day,” commemorating the original group’s torchlight parades across the nation; on that date last year, the Wide Awakes encouraged people to “revive and remix this tradition with a Grand Procession of your own.”

The network asserts that “the Wide Awakes are everywhere.” The number of participants is unclear, and The Epoch Times was unable to find a direct link to the shooting suspect or violent ideology.

The Wide Awakes website promotes peaceful activism. The group has encouraged people to reach hearts and minds through “meditation and prayer,” and to produce art such as musical performances, activism posters, flags, and decorative capes that convey messages.

“We believe creative liberation is a game and all of us can play now and forever,” the Wide Awakes website says, adding, “We can emancipate ourselves without violence.”