WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The first indications that something had gone wrong at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner came around 8:35 p.m. on Saturday from a series of audible but mysterious thuds.
Dinner chatter paused.
The silence was broken when the doors crashed open to the giant ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where some 2,600 journalists and their guests - dressed with rare pomp in tuxedos and gowns - had just sat down for the salad courses and glasses of wine. President Donald Trump was seated with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other dignitaries at a long head table.
Elegantly uniformed waiters soon charged down the middle aisle. Agents hustled Vance and several others off the stage. Plainclothes officers sprang from their seats and pushed to the ground several cabinet members, who had been seated moments earlier at tables among the journalists, then rolled the administration officials beneath tables.
Other officers drew handguns. Still others materialized seemingly from nowhere in full tactical gear, long guns trained on the astonished, alarmed attendees, most of whom were diving to the floor, crawling under tables and chairs for safety.
