On April 27, 2026, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published a new report from the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) project on Iran-backed Iraqi militia Telegram channels celebrating the assassination attempt of U.S. President Donald Trump.
On the evening of April 25, President Trump was evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel, along with other members of his administration and members of Congress, after a man armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives charged at a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel lobby and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement. The suspect, who was arrested at the scene and taken to a nearby hospital, was identified as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, from Torrance, California. Allen, who is believed to have acted alone, obtained degrees in mechanical engineering and computer science and worked as a mechanical engineer, before becoming an independent video game developer and a part-time teacher.
This was the third assassination attempt targeting Trump, after two prior attempts during his 2024 presidential campaign. In July 2024, he was shot in the ear at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. In addition, several other plots against Trump have been foiled since his first campaign for president in 2016.
Telegram channels supporting Iran-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militias celebrated the assassination attempt and glorified its perpetrator. Highlighting a call by Ahmad (Abu Hussein) Al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of Iraq’s Iran-backed Hizbullah Brigades, to “lone lions scattered across the far corners of the earth” to “wage a comprehensive war against the combined forces of arrogance and hegemony” in support of Iran, they expressed hope that Trump would be targeted again.
Wish For Future Assassination Attempts In Response To Hizbullah Brigades Leader’s Appeal
The “Archive of the Resistance in Iraq” channel shared an AI-generated image depicting a miniature Trump trapped inside a glass bottle as Al-Hamidawi sets a fire inside the bottle with a lighter, igniting Trump’s boot and a MAGA hat. The image accompanied a post quoting the Hizbullah Brigades leader: “Accordingly, we issue our call to the Mujahideen of East Asia, the Caucasus, and the Gulf states – indeed, even to the ‘lone lions’ scattered across the far corners of the earth – so that we may wage a comprehensive war against the combined forces of arrogance and hegemony.
The channel later posted: “The lone lions’ action is for Allah’s sake.” Sharing images of a Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle, a reenactment of the John F. Kennedy assassination, and a video of the previous day’s shooting, the channel commented: “Perhaps the scene will repeat itself.”
The channel also shared an image of Trump being evacuated from the Butler rally with his ear bloodied, ironically quoting a May 2025 statement by “the criminal Trump” that “the world is a much safer place right now.”
Trump Threatened: “No Security For You Anywhere”
On April 26, “The Iraqi Military Capabilities” Telegram channel commented on the shooting, threatening Trump: “There is no security for you, o fool, anywhere.” Sharing videos of Trump being escorted out of the ballroom by Secret Service operatives, the channel mocked the president: “The fool Trump can’t walk.”
Leaders Of American “Empire” Face Country’s “Fragility”
The “Sadeq” Telegram channel released an AI-generated image depicting three men and a woman huddling under a table, surrounded by broken tableware, overturned chairs, and scattered silverware and microphones, titled: “The Dinner of Terror: When Washington’s Emperors Taste from the Cup of Fear.” Commenting on the shooting, the accompanying post asserted that “in a few moments, the most exclusive party in the American capital turned into a scene of panic yesterday,” as “senior officials and media figures of the ’empire,’ who justify the extermination of peoples on a daily basis, found themselves hiding under dinner tables to escape the bullets.” According to the post, the incident demonstrates the “fragility of the American interior,” declaring that “the fire they ignited in the world has begun to consume the heart of Washington.”
A pro-Iran group affiliated with the “Iraqi resistance” issued a statement on April 20 calling on Americans to assassinate the U.S. president and threatening him and his family members.
