Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, is facing two federal firearms crimes and a charge of attempting to assassinate the president of the United States—which could come with a maximum sentence of life in prison, prosecutors said at his formal arraignment on Monday afternoon.
Allen was arraigned at a federal court in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
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Allen appeared before Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh on Monday afternoon wearing a blue prison jump suit, and did not enter a plea for his charges.
The suspected gunman also faces two federal firearms charges—one for transporting a firearm across state lines, and another for discharging a firearm during a crime.
Allen was remanded back to custody after the hearing, although Sharbaugh scheduled another hearing for Thursday to determine whether he would stay in jail while facing trial.
Allen could face a maximum sentence of life in prison for the charge of attempted assassination.
“There will be additional charges as this investigation continues to unfold” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at a press conference later on Monday, and the Justice Department has previously said Allen could face additional charges, including for assault of a federal officer
“Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they were trained to do,” Acting Attorney Todd Blanche said at the press conference. Pirro also said the incident would have been “so much worse” without the presence of the Secret Service, Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI. “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 that he could,” Pirro said. A copy of the alleged shooter’s manifesto was included in the affidavit prosecutors filed Monday, where he referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin.”
Allen, 31, was arrested after allegedly opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking members of the Trump administration were present for the gala, which was the first Correspondents’ Dinner Trump had committed to attending as a sitting president. Allen was allegedly armed with a pump-action shotgun, a semiautomatic handgun and at least three knives, prosecutors said. He allegedly exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers at a security checkpoint one floor above the hotel’s ballroom, striking one who was wearing a bulletproof vest. The officer went to the hospital but was later released. “This heroic officer who was hit fired five times at Allen,” Blanche said on Monday, although later he said the exact number of shots fired were still being examined by law enforcement. The suspected gunman was not hit by the returning fire, but quickly dropped to the ground, according to the acting attorney general.
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