Footage from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner captured an attendee behaving in an unexpected way in the chaotic moments after an attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday night.
Authorities say a would-be shooter, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, tried to push through the security screening area outside the high-profile event on April 25. Attorney General Todd Blanche said he sprinted past a metal detector shortly before 8.30pm and “got off a couple shots”.
Inside the Washington Hilton ballroom, Secret Service agents reportedly yelled “shots fired” as they moved quickly to evacuate President Trump, members of his cabinet, and their families, while law enforcement officers subdued the suspect.
As the room emptied in a rush, one woman was filmed doing something that stood out: instead of fleeing immediately, she appeared to take advantage of the abandoned tables.
A video circulating on social media shows the guest collecting several bottles of wine left behind. Dressed in what looks like a black fur coat, she picks up a bottle of sparkling wine first, then seems to realize how much alcohol had been left unattended.
She wasn’t the only person seen grabbing items amid the panic, but the clip drew criticism online from those who felt it was the wrong moment for opportunism.
It’s unclear whether the woman in the video was a journalist or another type of guest, but one X user, “TeslaBoomerPapa,” reacted angrily to what they described as press members taking the bottles.
“So, there you have press members STEALING wine bottles: this is who the press is! Repugnant!”
The same user also insulted people who disagreed, including one person who argued:
“Lol … in all fairness … I would have grabbed a bottle or two on the way out as well.”
The bottle-grabbing wasn’t the only unusual response caught on camera.
While some attendees moved quickly for cover or tried to work out what had happened, another clip showed a man near the stage remaining remarkably composed.
As armed officers stood watch and others nearby crouched beneath tables, the older man was filmed calmly eating his salad—the apparent first course of the night—seemingly unfazed by the commotion around him.
Later, the man was identified as Creative Artists Agency executive Michael Glantz. Online, many labeled him “the calmest man in the room,” suggesting he had his “priorities sorted”.
Still, with seats at the annual Washington event reportedly costing around $350—typically covered by a news outlet—the woman seen stocking up on leftover bottles may have gotten the most tangible return on the night’s ticket price.