A California man has been charged with attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump after he allegedly tried to storm a gala event while armed with multiple weapons over the weekend.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, appeared in court in Washington DC on Monday, facing charges including attempted assassination of the president, transportation of a firearm between states to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence. He did not enter a plea.
According to prosecutors, Allen was carrying a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun, and three knives when he rushed past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night at a Washington hotel. A Secret Service agent was shot in the chest during the incident but was protected by a ballistic vest and has since been released from hospital.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a news conference that the agent, who was hit, fired five times at Allen. The suspect was not shot but fell to the ground and was promptly arrested. Blanche said Allen is believed to have discharged his shotgun at least once.
President Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members, and other White House officials were rushed from the ballroom after gunfire erupted.
Court documents reveal that Allen left his home in Torrance, California, on April 21, travelling by train to Chicago before arriving in Washington on April 24. He checked into the Hilton hotel on the eve of the gala. Officials say he crossed multiple state lines with the intention of killing the president.
In an email sent to his family shortly before the attack, Allen allegedly wrote that administration officials “are targets, prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest,” adding that he would go through “most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary.”
Allen studied at the California Institute of Technology and worshipped at a church in the Los Angeles area. Federal records show he donated $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee supporting Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
The suspect has not been cooperating with investigators, according to law enforcement sources. He is due to appear in court again on Thursday. The attempted assassination charge carries a potential life sentence.
The incident has prompted a White House security review, with officials questioning whether security perimeters at the hotel were sufficient and why the president, vice-president, and other successors were gathered in one location. However, Blanche maintained that “law enforcement did not fail,” noting that the gunman was one floor away from the president with “hundreds of federal agents” in between.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is set to convene a meeting this week to discuss protocols for major events.
The Washington Hilton is the same venue where John Hinckley Jr attempted to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan 45 years ago.
