Man charged with attempted assassination of Trump in White House correspondents’ dinner shooting
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This courtroom sketch depicts Cole Tomas Allen, left, the California man arrested in the shooting incident at the correspondents dinner in Washington, seen appearing before Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh, in federal court, Monday, April 27, 2026 in Washington. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, left, and FBI Director Kash Patel, right, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, on Monday April 27, 2026, in Washington, following the initial appearance in federal court of the suspected White House Correspondents Dinner gunman, Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who authorities say tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives was charged Monday with the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump as federal authorities suggested an attack that disrupted one of Washington’s glitziest events had been planned for at least several weeks.
Cole Tomas Allen appeared in court Monday to face federal charges after the chaotic encounter Saturday that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage unharmed and guests ducking for cover underneath their tables.
He was ordered to remain jailed pending additional court hearings, and faces up to life in prison if convicted of the assassination count alone.
An FBI affidavit filed in the case reveals additional details about the planning behind the assault, with authorities alleging that Allen on April 6 reserved a room for himself at the Washington hotel where the event would be held weeks later under its typical tight security.
He travelled by train cross-country from California last week, checking himself into the Washington Hilton one day before the dinner with a room reserved through the weekend.
The event had barely begun when officials say the 31-year-old Torrance, California, man, armed with a shotgun and pistol, tried to race past a security barricade near the cavernous ballroom holding hundreds of journalists and their guests, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents tasked with safeguarding the event.
“Violence has no place in civic life,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference. “We will ensure accountability is swift and certain.”
Allen was injured but was not shot. A Secret Service officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived, officials say. The Justice Department charged Allen with two additional firearms counts, including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence, but the affidavit does not directly say that Allen was responsible for shooting the officer.
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