A White House Correspondents’ Dinner guest is going viral after footage emerged of him eating his salad, seemingly unbothered, amid the chaos after the shooting.
Source: X
A man is going viral after footage emerged of him calmly continuing to eat a salad amid the chaotic aftermath of Saturdayâs shooting at White House Correspondentsâ Dinner.
He has been identified in US media as Creative Artists Agency agent Michael Glantz.
CNNâs coverage of the shooting shows him continuing to quietly eat as others shelter under tables. It follows accused gunman Cole Tomas Allen allegedly rushing a security checkpoint at the gala dinner at the Washington Hilton with multiple weapons.
Officials have said that Allen, a 31-year-old teacher and game developer from California, fired a shotgun at a Secret Service âagent before being tackled and arrested.
As wild scenes erupted, US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet officials were rushed out of the dinner as the incident unfolded.
âThat was a crazy, um, moment in time,â actor Cheryl Hines, who was there with her husband, US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, said on her Instagram story.
âWe were there and we heard shots and everybody got under the tables. Nobody knew what was going on.
âThen you know, Bobbyâs security detail surrounded us and took us. I mean, really, like, had to lift me over chairs because Iâm in heels and a gown. And they took us through all of the back ways and we got in the car and left.â
Glantz, meanwhile, told celebrity gossip website TMZ on Sunday that he felt safe in the room because of the large police presence.
âNot every day you see something like that go down,â he said.
TMZ said that Glantz represents CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer. He has told USA Today he was âa few feet away from the gunmanâ outside the ballroom when the shooting occurred.
âIt was scary, it was loud. The cops got on top of him and then they got on top of me to protect me,â Blitzer said.
Other footage from the aftermath of the incident in the ballroom shows some journalists pocketing bottles of wine that have been left on abandoned tables.
The glitzy dinner was called off after Saturdayâs shooting, although organisers have promised to reschedule it.
Hines, who has been married to Kennedy since 2014, thanked her social media followers for their sympathy and support.
âThank you for everyone reaching out, asking if weâre OK, and we are OK, and I thank you for that. Um, Iâm in my pyjamas now. Watching the news break, just like you guys. Um, but everybody stays safe,â the 60-year-old wrote late on Saturday (US time).
Saturdayâs shooting follows three assassination attempts on Trumpâs life â one in Pennsylvania in 2024 and two more in Florida.
On Sunday (US time), acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen could âabsolutelyâ be charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.
âWeâre still looking to try to understand a motive,â he said. âFrom our preliminary investigation, it does appear the suspect was targeting members of the administration. I donât want to go beyond that because we donât have specifics yet about particular members of the administration, except that we do understand that that was his goal and his target.â
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