The suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appeared in court Monday afternoon to face charges of attempting to assassinate the president.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a teacher and engineer from California, is accused of opening fire outside the packed ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where President Donald Trump and other White House officials gathered with journalists for the dinner. He appeared in court on Monday in a blue jumpsuit, flanked by U.S. Marshals.
Allen made his initial appearance in front of federal magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh in Washington and was charged with three criminal counts. He answered rudimentary questions from the judge — his full name, age, level of education, an understanding of his rights — in a soft voice. As he walked in, Allen scanned the public gallery, where 40 to 50 members of the press and public sat to observe the proceedings.
Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, a charge that carries a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted.
He was also charged with transportation of a firearm and ammunition through interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The third count Allen was charged with was discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, which can carry a sentence of an additional term of mandatory minimum of 10 years.
Jocelyn Ballantine, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Allen traveled to Washington with a pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic pistol, three knives and “other dangerous paraphernalia.” She called for Allen to be held in pre-trial detention. His attorneys said Allen has had no prior charges and is presumed innocent.
The judge set a date for a detention hearing on Thursday.
In a note he sent family members about 10 minutes before the Saturday attack, Allen said it was his duty to target Trump administration officials. He also apologized to his parents and said he planned to carry out a shooting because he vehemently opposed the Trump administration. Allen said he planned to use buckshot to minimize civilian casualties. The note was included in a criminal complaint released Monday.
At around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the terrace level of the hotel, an area that led to the location of the dinner, an FBI special agent wrote in a criminal complaint released Monday afternoon.
He then ran through a magnetometer with a long gun and as he did, U.S. Secret Service personnel at the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot, the complaint said.
A U.S. Secret Service Officer identified as V.G. was shot once in the chest and was wearing a ballistic vest at the time, the document added.
The officer fired multiple times at Allen, who “fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries but was not shot,” the complaint said. Allen was then arrested.
A Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was “struck in the vest” and taken for treatment to a local hospital, Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said previously. The officer was later released from the hospital, a source said early Sunday.
Trump and top members of his Cabinet and Congress were quickly evacuated from the hotel ballroom where the annual event was being held.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference that the president, administration officials and other attendees “were safe” during the shooting.
“I want to make this clear. This man was a floor above the ballroom with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president of the United States,” he said, later adding, “law enforcement did not fail.”
The president, who said he "wasn't worried" during the shooting, said the event will be rescheduled to take place in the next month. The White House Correspondents' Association has not yet made an announcement regarding a make-up dinner.
