Fact Check: Did Savannah Guthrie Really Employ Cole Allen? Internet Claims Examined

A viral post on X claimed: “Breaking: The shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen from Torrance, California. Cole is a former driver of Savannah Guthrie and his wife is currently working as her assistant.”

The post, shared by a verified account called Smartass Brunette, also suggested that Allen was connected to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, who has been missing from her Tucson home since February 1.

As similar posts spread across social media, users began speculating about a possible link between Savannah Guthrie and the suspected shooter, Cole Tomas Allen.

According to NBC News, Allen, 31, a teacher and engineer from California, was charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump after opening fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner where Trump and top members of his administration were present.

An image circulating online appeared to show Allen posing with Guthrie, with claims that he, along with his wife, had been employed by her. However, no evidence has verified any connection between the two.

“The image falsely claims the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting suspect was a driver for Savannah Guthrie; he is a tutor, engineer, and game developer with no connection to her or NBC,” an independent fact-check found.

As per Grok, “No credible news outlets report Cole Allen was ever married—no spouse or ex is mentioned in any verified reporting or records. He’s a 31-year-old school teacher from Torrance, CA; law enforcement responded to a family-linked home there.

Savannah Guthrie lives and works in New York City (Brooklyn Heights townhouse, Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan). A California teacher couldn’t realistically serve as her driver.

The image links to http://crispvale.blog, an anonymous clickbait site with no authors, bios, or credible sourcing—purely fabricated ‘news.’ This is a hoax.”

Podcast host Matt Tardio also cast doubt on the viral image, noting there was no match via reverse image search. “I think it's AI,” he wrote.

As per ChatGPT, “Any suggestion that Cole Allen is connected to Savannah Guthrie is false or unsupported by credible sources.”

Meanwhile, Savannah Guthrie, who recently returned to the Today show after two months following her mother’s disappearance, previously said, “Faith is how I will stay connected to my mom. G*d is how I'm holding hands with my mom.”

Authorities, including the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have been investigating the case for nearly three months, but no suspect has been identified so far.

In a message sent to family members minutes before the attack, Cole Allen described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and railed against recent actions taken by the U.S. government under Trump, though he did not name the Republican president directly, PBS News cited a report from The Associated Press.

On LinkedIn, Allen describes himself as: “A mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.”

Allen reportedly earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and later a Master of Science in Computer Science from a California State University. In December 2024, he was named Teacher of the Month at C2 Education.