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White House Correspondents' Dinner Canceled; WHCA, Trump to Reschedule

Law enforcement has asked that the White House Correspondents' Dinner be shut down, with the WHCA and Donald Trump promising to reschedule.

UPDATE (10:04 pm ET): Despite initial efforts by President Donald Trump and White House Correspondents' Association President Weijia Jiang to resume the event, law enforcement and Secret Service have asked that the Washington Hilton Hotel be evacuated following a security incident outside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel in which shots were fired near the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD). Jiang shared that Trump was back at The White House and would be holding a press conference from there.

"The president will be having a press briefing at the White House in 30 minutes. That is not a joke, and he insists that we will reschedule this event in the next 30 days," Jiang shared from the podium at the WHCD. "I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service, because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it. And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are. Thank God everybody is safe. We will do this again."

ORIGINAL REPORT: President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and members of Trump's Cabinet were evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) on Saturday night following a security incident outside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel in which shots were fired. CNN's Kaitlin Collins reported, as this was being written, that the shooter is confirmed dead, though the Secret Service is claiming a suspect is in custody. The evacuation occurred around 8:30 pm ET, following what initially sounded like loud bangs, prompting attendees to dive under tables as Secret Service agents took Trump and Melania off the stage. Soon after, other security agents were seen on the main stage and among the audience, escorting other government officials away.

As members of the press were being evacuated from the dinner, White House Correspondents' Association President Weijia Jiang walked onto the stage to announce that the program would resume shortly. "Please just be patient as we figure out just how much time it will be, but it shouldn't be that much longer," she said. There were also reports that Trump is planning to deliver a speech during the WHCD event, though it remains to be seen if it will be live or via video (there are no reports that Trump has departed the hotel). As the story unfolds over the next several hours and days, expect the details to ebb and flow until a clearer picture emerges. Here's a look at the moments when Trump was evacuated during this evening's event, followed by two news networks still streaming coverage of the WHCD as it looks to move forward.

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