WASHINGTON — The suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Allen was charged with trying to assassinate President Trump on Saturday night — as he made a defiant first appearance in court.
The 31-year-old accused madman spoke loudly and confidently answering a judge’s questions in federal court in Washington, DC, as he was hit with the charges of attempted assassination of the president, transportation of a firearm across state lines to commit a felony and discharging a gun.
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. AP
Cole Tomas Allen also had this handgun on him. REUTERS
He faces life in prison if convicted of the top charge.
Allen — who walked into the courtroom unshackled with a somber look and wearing a blue jail jumpsuit — answered Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh when asked his name, loudly saying: “Cole Tomas Allen.”
The CalTech grad also said his age and told the judge he has a “master’s degree.”
After the hearing, DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro — whose office is prosecuting Allen — said that his manifesto made clear he wanted to kill Trump, and any other official he could.
“There will be additional charges as this investigation continues to unfold,” Pirro said.
“But make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was, and that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.”
Cole Allen, 31, charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Obtained by NY Post
The CalTech grad also said his age and told the judge he has a “master’s degree.” Cole Allen/ Linkedin
At the hearing, prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen traveled across state boundaries “carrying a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun,” along with a “.38-caliber semi automatic pistol and three knives.”
Allen will remain behind bars until a bail hearing Thursday.
Allen hasn’t entered a plea yet since he’s currently facing a criminal complaint rather than an indictment — which he’s likely to be charged with down the road.
Pirro looked on from the front seat of the courtroom gallery during the hearing, which lasted less than 20 minutes.
Cole Allen appeared in a federal court in Washington DC Monday.
She noted after the hearing that Allen “was not injured other than a scrape on his knee.”
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche at the press conference laid out a timeline of Allen’s movements, detailing how he traveled for three days by train from his home in Torrance, Calif., to DC, via Chicago before checking into the Washington Hilton the day before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after booking a room there.
The next night, Allen attempted to get into the correspondents’ dinner through a security checkpoint a floor above the ballroom where the event was taking place, Blanche said.
“He ran through the magnetometer, holding a long gun. As he did so, US Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot,” Blanche said. “One Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked.”
FBI Director Kash Patel at the news conference touted the agency’s quick response and transparency with the public.
“You know almost every single thing we know,” Patel said.
Trump, Melania and other top officials had to be evacuated and the dinner, meant to toast the Washington press corps, was called off and set to be rescheduled for roughly a month later.
Allen allegedly opened fire as he attempted to bust into the ballroom where President Trump and first lady Melania were attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. truthsocial/@realDonaldTrump
Trump and other top officials had to be evacuated. AP
Allen allegedly sent an unhinged anti-President Trump manifesto to his family 10 minutes before he unleashed his fury — the letter so alarming that it prompted his brother to call the New London, Conn., police.
Referring to himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin,” Allen wrote he was targeting top officials in the Republican administration — though he specified he didn’t want to kill FBI Director Kash Patel or other members of law enforcement.
“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” Allen wrote, in an apparent reference to Trump.
In addition to the political rant, Allen also bashed the “insane” lack of security at the hotel — where he was able to waltz with weapons that went undetected.
Allen was armed with a shotgun and knives.
“Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance. I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat,” he wrote.
Allen is allegedly part of a group called “The Wide Awakes” — a revival of a youth organization from the Civil War-era that adopted the stance of the Republican Party of the time, including opposing slavery.
Blanche at the press conference said the Department of Justice was investigating the group.
Allen — who graduated from Caltech with a degree in engineering and a master’s in computer science — worked for tutoring and test prep company C2 Education and had been named “Teacher of the Month,” in December 2024.