Torrance man charged with trying to assassinate Trump at correspondents dinner

Federal prosecutors formally charged the alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner with three counts on Monday, including attempting to assassinate the president.

Cole Allen, 31, made his first public appearance in federal court in Washington, D.C. just a little over a day after the thwarted attack at the dinner, which was attended by President Trump, top administration officials, lawmakers and journalists.

Allen walked into the courtroom wearing a blue prison uniform. He answered questions from the federal judge, but otherwise remained quiet.

Authorities said Allen charged through a security perimeter at the Washington Hilton, where the annual event was taking place, before being stopped and arrested by law enforcement. One Secret Service agent was shot in his protective vest and not seriously injured.

Other charges against Allen include transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce for use in a felony; and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

He will remain in custody for the meantime.

Video from the event shows Secret Service agents surrounding Trump and Vice President Vance and ushering them out of the room after shots rang out. Journalists and other attendees can be seen crouched under tables as federal officers swarmed the ballroom.

At a White House press conference shortly after the shooting, Trump said he recognized the dangers of his position as president.

"I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it's a dangerous life. I think I'm — I think I handle it as well as it can be handled," Trump said.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning that the suspect is believed to have been targeting administration officials.

What happened?

Just after the dinner began around 8 p.m. ET, the suspect allegedly attempted to breach a security barrier inside the Washington Hilton near the ballroom where the correspondents' dinner was being held.

Trump on Saturday night posted a video on social media appearing to show a man sprinting through a security checkpoint, with agents then turning and pointing their weapons in his direction. Those inside the nearby ballroom could hear muffled pops.

"Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees," Secret Service Director Sean Curran said Saturday evening. "And that individual, when he charged a checkpoint, was apprehended. It shows that our multi-layered protection works."

The suspect was believed to have acted alone, and two firearms and multiple knives were recovered, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement on social media.

Trump said after the shooting that he wanted the dinner to continue, but later said he decided to leave at the request of law enforcement, adding that the organizers told him the event would be rescheduled.

Weijia Jiang, a CBS News journalist who is president of the White House Correspondents' Association, called Sunday's shooting a "harrowing moment" and said the WHCA board would meet to "assess what happened and determine how to proceed."

Who is Cole Allen?

Before the shooting, Allen allegedly sent his family members what the White House is calling a manifesto, stating he wanted to target members of the Trump administration, a White House official told NPR.

That official also said Allen's sister had spoken with law enforcement, telling them her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and had alluded to a plan to do "something" to fix the world's problems.

According to his sister, Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun that he stored at his parents' home without their knowledge.

Additional details about the suspect began to emerge in the hours after the attack.

A LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Allen describes him as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth." According to the LinkedIn page, Allen worked as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a tutoring service that offers testing prep for high school students. He received a "teacher of the month" award from the company in December 2024.

One of his students, Jason, a 17-year-old who NPR is identifying only by his first name because he is a minor, said "you wouldn't expect [Allen] to be plotting some crazy, evil plan to kill the president." Jason added: "He was just quirky because he was a just really smart guy."

Movses Janbazian, pastor at Pasadena United Reformed Church, told NPR he knew Allen years ago as a "good guy" and "quiet." Allen attended weekly church services while he was a student at California Institute of Technology, according to Janbazian.

"He was faithful in his attendance, and he was always friendly and courteous to everyone," Janbazian said. "He was in a very competitive school, and so we didn't get to see him much because he was always working, doing homework."

"Every interaction we had with him was great," Janbazian continued.

Janbazian also said the news is still "very surprising" and he doesn't "know what to think." Allen was not involved in the church outside of worship, he added.

"No secret handshakes or anything," Janbazian said. "Just — he would come. He would hear the gospel. He would worship. He would go home."

Federal Election Commission records show that Allen donated $25 to the fundraising platform ActBlue in October 2024, earmarked for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben, Ryan Lucas, Lydia Calitri, Steve Futterman, Deepa Shivaram and Ava Berger contributed reporting.
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