(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump will attend the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Friday night, the White House said, after the annual dinner ended abruptly three months ago when shots rang out.
“Alongside all of you members of the media, the president looks forward to finishing what he started before a despicable assassination attempt derailed the original event back in April,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.
The spring dinner devolved into chaos after authorities say Cole Allen opened fire inside the Washington Hilton hotel, where thousands of journalists and guests gathered for the annual celebration of the First Amendment. The president and top government officials were also in attendance.
Allen pleaded not guilty in May to charges of attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.
Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales was shot in the incident, but the bullet struck “his protective vest and [he] continued responding to the threat,” the Secret Service said.
Sean Curran, the Secret Service director, said in a briefing on Wednesday that the agency measures worked in April and that they are preparing for Friday’s rescheduled dinner.
Friday’s dinner is taking place at a different Washington, D.C., hotel, the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue.
“We will always evaluate every site and, right now, we have an advance team there and they will take back and they will set up a plan to set that site up for success just like we did at the White House correspondents’ dinner at the Hilton,” Curran said.
The White House Correspondents’ Association announced on Tuesday that it will present a special award, the President’s Award for Exceptional Service, during Friday night’s dinner to Gonzales and the staff of the Washington Hilton.
“Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely,” Weijia Jiang, who presided over the April dinner as WHCA president, said in a statement. “His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.”
Jiang said the Hilton staff is being recognized for their “professionalism and commitment to service” by continuing to “take care of guests” after experiencing the “harrowing situation” themselves.
The shooting took place before the scheduled program that features the presentation of journalism awards, remarks from the president, and entertainment from an invited headliner. This year’s entertainer was mentalist Oz Pearlman, who will be back for the redo dinner, the association said.
The association added that it was determined “to finish the program that was interrupted.”
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