How a 'Teacher of the Year' Turned into a Would-Be Assassin | Guests: Andrew Kolvet & Katie Pavlich | 4/27/26

The Glenn Beck Program episode titled 'How a 'Teacher of the Year' Turned into a Would-Be Assassin' delivers a searing critique of the growing normalization of political violence in America, centered on the recent assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Glenn Beck traces the radicalization of Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old Caltech graduate and former Teacher of the Year, who was transformed from a respected educator into a would-be assassin through years of immersion in left-wing extremist rhetoric, online radicalization, and participation in the No Kings protests. Beck draws a chilling parallel to the 1860s 'Wide Awakes' movement—originally a protector of free speech—now perverted into a violent anti-fascist force that justifies political assassination. He warns that dehumanizing language, such as labeling opponents as 'fascists' or 'pedophiles,' has created a culture where violence becomes thinkable, and calls for a national moral reckoning to reject the 'ends justify the means' mentality. The episode underscores the trauma inflicted on attendees like Katie Pavlich and Erica Kirk, and highlights the broader societal cost: the erosion of trust, the burden on families, and the threat to the republic itself. Beck also raises serious concerns about the Secret Service’s failure to enforce standard layered security protocols, questioning staffing, funding, and protocol adherence after the shooter bypassed multiple checkpoints with minimal scrutiny, prompting a call for full transparency and accountability from the agency's leadership.