Suspect in White House Correspondents' Association Dinner Shooting Appears in Court for the First Time, Accused of Attempting to Assassinate Trump
A California man has been charged with attempting to assassinate U.S. President Trump at a dinner in Washington D.C. over the weekend. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, made his first appearance in federal court on Monday. He is also charged with gun crimes.
Allen will remain in custody. A detention hearing will be held later this week.
On Saturday night, Allen was tackled to the ground outside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel while the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner was taking place.
U.S. government officials said Allen was attempting to breach the event and targeted senior officials, including U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump was attending the event at the time, and he and Vice President JD Vance were evacuated.
Allen's exact target and motive are still unclear, but a lengthy manifesto he sent to family members, seen by Bloomberg, appears to denounce Trump as a “traitor” who committed crimes.