The man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump by rushing the black-tie press gala in Washington DC at the weekend where the US president was a guest, agreed on Thursday to remain in custody while his federal criminal case moves forward.
The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was not planning immediately to contest prosecutors’ arguments that he was a danger to the community and should remain in jail, his attorney, Tezira Abe, said during a federal court hearing in the capital.
Allen allegedly stormed a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel where the annual White House correspondents’ association dinner was being held and fired a shotgun outside the doors leading into the ballroom where the US president, first lady Melania Trump and several cabinet members were already seated and the event was getting under way.
Prosecutors argued that Allen carefully planned to attack Trump and other officials in his administration as they dined and were preparing speeches at the gala night with some 2,600 journalists, politicians and others.
He charged past security in the outer lobby to the basement-level ballroom, as federal agents grabbed their guns and began shooting. The suspect was not shot and was wrestled to the ground and arrested. Chaos unfolded at the dinner as shots were heard and the president, Vice-President JD Vance and others were hurried out of the ballroom by secret service agents, the event was discontinued and all guests were told to evacuate.
The prosecutors alleged in a legal filing that Allen traveled by train from his southern California home town of Torrance, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, to Washington armed with the shotgun, a .38-caliber pistol as well as knives and daggers.
He was “willing to commit a mass shooting inside a room full of the highest-ranking officials in the US government”, the filing said.
Allen first appeared in court on Monday and is charged with attempted assassination, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and illegally transporting guns and ammunition across state lines. He has not yet entered a plea.
In court filings, his defense lawyers highlighted what they called flaws in the government’s case, including questions about whether Allen shot a US Secret Service agent, as officials initially claimed.
Allen’s defense team said he had no prior arrests or convictions and was an active member of his Christian church family.
Prosecutors have not alleged in court that Allen shot the agent, who officials said was struck by gunfire but was spared serious injury by his ballistic vest.
Allen is accused of firing the shotgun toward a set of stairs that led down to the ballroom. A US Secret Service agent heard a “loud bang” and a spent casing was found in the barrel of the shotgun, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege Allen intended to target Trump, citing an email Allen allegedly sent to relatives on the night of the shooting in which he appeared to refer to Trump as a traitor and a criminal. The email does not mention Trump by name but refers to targeting administration officials from highest to lowest rank.