Accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner Gunman Now Faces a Terrorism Charge That Could Mean Life in Prison
The man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April now faces a terrorism charge that could bring a life sentence.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced a five-count superseding indictment against Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, that adds a count of committing an act of terrorism while armed under D.C. law, FOX 5 DC reported.
Prosecutors allege Allen tried to kill Trump with the intent of influencing executive branch policy and intimidating a significant portion of the civilian population, the Daily Wire reported.
There is no broad federal domestic terrorism statute, so the count was brought under the local D.C. law, NBC News reported. Pirro’s office prosecutes both federal and most local crimes in the capital. The same statute was used against Floyd Lee Corkins, who attacked the Family Research Council in 2012.
Allen already faced four federal counts, including attempting to assassinate the president and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and has not yet entered a plea to the new one.
Prosecutors say Allen sprinted through a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton shortly after 8:30 p.m. on April 25 and ran toward the stairs leading to the ballroom where Trump was, FOX 5 DC reported.
As he ran, he allegedly fired a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, hitting a Secret Service officer once in the chest. The officer fired five shots back, and Allen fell and was restrained. Trump was not hurt and was rushed out by his detail.
Agents rushed Trump and other senior officials from the stage as guests, including members of the Cabinet, ducked beneath tables, the New York Post reported.
Investigators say Allen also carried a .38-caliber pistol, two knives, four daggers, dozens of rounds of ammunition, needle-nose pliers and wire cutters.
Allen allegedly sent a manifesto to family, friends and a former employer naming “Administration officials (not including [FBI Director Kash] Patel)” as targets, “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” the Post reported.
According to an FBI affidavit, Allen booked his hotel room on April 6, traveled cross-country by train and checked in a day before the dinner. Prosecutors say he tracked online updates on Trump’s arrival that night.
When the original indictment was announced, Pirro said there was evidence Allen “intended to assassinate the president” and that “the use of violence to register dissent is anti-democratic at its core,” FOX 5 DC noted.
A jury trial is set for Sept. 7, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, with a status conference on Dec. 4, NBC News reported.
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