President Trump Evacuated From White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was halted Saturday night as President Trump and first lady Melania Trump were evacuated by the Secret Service while the annual gala dinner unfolded at the Washington Hilton.

CNN, CNBC and other outlets reported that gunshots were heard, prompting the decision to extract Trump and other administration officials who were attending the event. CNN reported that Trump is safe and at the White House.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reported on-air that he heard the gunshots and was thrown to the ground by police for safety. Blitzer said he saw the gunman “shooting randomly” and saw him being tackled by police. He was ushered into a restroom for safety by police. Blitzer said he heard at least six dozen loud “booms.” Shortly after 9 p.m. ET, WHCA president Weijia Jiang told the crowd that the program would continue despite the commotion caused by the incident and Trump’s swift departure.

CSPAN coverage indicated that just as guests were finishing the salad course of the dinner, the dais for the event was abruptly cleared out and many of the several thousand attendees of the event dove under tables amid concerns about a major security breach. Witnesses told CSPAN that they heard yelling from the back of the ballroom before the Secret Service swept into the room. On CSPAN’s coverage around the 8:40 p.m. ET mark, shouts of “USA, USA” can be heard from the back of the ballroom.

The scene outside the Washington Hilton earlier in the night was tense, with protestors chanting about U.S. action in Iran as attendees entered the hotel. Multiple layers of security with Washington, D.C. streets around the hotel closed off and tickets were required to move past several checkpoints in the hotel and facility.

After shooting, there was initial confusion as to what had happened before journalists were able to reach their news outlets to report the details of what unfolded. CNN, CNBC, CSPAN and other outlets delivered the news of what just happened in the ballroom in telephone interviews with startled journalists who were on site.

Most of journalism’s top players were in attendance at the annual fundraiser event. Versant CEO Mark Lazarus, ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic, “Good Morning America” executive producer Simone Swink and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott are among the notables who were seen at pre-parties on Saturday.

Among the Trump administration officials attending the event were Vice President JD Vance, White House deputy chief of policy Stephen Miller, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, and Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA.

More to come