Cole Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this past weekend. A former Caltech classmate, Eliza Terlinden, said Allen acted out of moral convictions rather than mental instability.

Terlinden attended the California Institute of Technology at the same time as Allen. The two were members of the Caltech Christian Fellowship group from 2013 to 2015, the only years she knew him personally.

She said her initial reaction to news of the charge was disbelief, assuming it was a case of mistaken identity. That view shifted after she reviewed a document she described as Allen's manifesto. "But once I read through his manifesto detailing the fact that he was acting out of deeply held moral convictions rather than just committing a wanton act of violence, then it became much more plausible to me." Terlinden said the manifesto described Allen's stated motive as opposing what he characterized as moral atrocities committed by the U.S. administration.

She described the document as relatively analytical and organized in tone, and said Allen appeared to have taken steps to minimize harm to bystanders. She said she never observed evidence of mental instability during the time she knew him.

Terlinden said Allen had not appeared politically engaged during the years they were acquainted. "Cole had always struck me as fairly apolitical, to the extent that we had disagreements on the matter. I think the biggest thing was that he just felt I spent too much energy on it relative to more spiritual pursuits. I think above all else, he felt that spreading the Gospel and living a Christ life is very important, and other things came secondary," she said.

She also disputed characterizations of Allen as anti-Christian, saying any such rhetoric was simply inaccurate.