The man who authorities say tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives has been charged with the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. He appeared in court Monday to face charges in a chaotic encounter that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being rushed off the stage and guests ducking for cover underneath their tables.
Cole Tomas Allen was taken into custody after the shooting on Saturday night and is being charged in federal court in Washington. Authorities say an officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest but is expected to recover.
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Allen, of Torrance, California, is being represented by lawyers with the federal defender’s office and sat beside them in court in a blue jail uniform.
At the hearing, prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said the weapons Allen brought to ‌Washington included a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and three knives.
Prosecutors have not revealed a motive, but in a message reviewed by The Associated Press that authorities say was sent by Allen to family members minutes before the attack, Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin”, made repeated references to the Republican president without naming him and alluded to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions.
Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.
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Allen, 31, is believed to have traveled by train from California to Chicago and then onto Washington, where he checked himself in as a guest at the hotel where the gala dinner was held with its typically tight security, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
Video posted by Trump shows a man running past a security barricade as Secret Service agents run towards him.
Records show Allen is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counselling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.
Allen could face a potential life sentence if convicted.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, Reuters)
