Accused correspondents’ dinner shooter charged with trying to assassinate Trump
The California man accused of attacking the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday faces a potential life sentence for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, federal prosecutors said Monday.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, did not enter a plea to three charges unsealed during his arraignment in federal court in Washington: attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony and discharging a firearm during the commission of a felony.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro of the District of Columbia said additional charges will be filed after an investigation concludes.
Allen did not speak during the arraignment except to answer basic questions from the judge. Defense attorney Tezira Abe said Allen had no previous criminal convictions.
On Saturday evening, officials said Monday, Allen carried a pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic handgun and three knives.
“He was targeting President Trump,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a press conference after Allen’s arraignment. “He was targeting administration officials.”
New details emerge
At the news conference, Pirro said Allen reserved a room for three nights at the Washington Hilton on April 6. That’s about a month after Trump said he would attend the annual dinner for the first time as president.
Allen left Los Angeles on a train to Chicago on Tuesday and took another train to Washington, arriving about 1 p.m. Friday, officials said. He checked into the hotel shortly afterward.
Officials did not detail his movements between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening.
At 8:45 p.m. Saturday, about 45 minutes after Trump arrived at the dinner, Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint carrying a long gun. A few feet from the checkpoint, one floor above the ballroom where the dinner was taking place, he apparently fired at least one shot, said Blanche, who added that a spent shell was found inside Allen’s shotgun.
Agents fired five shots at Allen, Blanche said. Allen was not wounded, but fell to the floor “and was promptly arrested,” Blanche said.
It will take additional investigation to determine whether Allen shot a Secret Service agent who was wounded during the episode, Blanche said.
Despite security concerns raised by the episode, Blanche said that “law enforcement did not fail.”
“I want to make this clear,” Blanche said. “This man was a floor above the ballroom with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president of the United States.”
Potential life sentence
If Allen is convicted of the attempted assassination charge, he could be sentenced to life in prison. One firearms charge carries a potential 10-year sentence, while the other could result in a sentence of 10 years to life.
A criminal defense attorney told Straight Arrow that the penalties were in line with the alleged crimes.
“I think they were smart with their charges,” Mary Warner, who practices in New Jersey, said. “The charge of attempting to assassinate the president is one of the most serious charges there is.
“The law treats attacks on the president as not just crimes against a person, but as threats to the functioning and stability of the federal government,” she said, “so penalties are much harsher than for most other assault-related offenses.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
