Published April 27, 2026
Federal authorities have charged the suspect who allegedly shot and killed a US Secret Service agent who tried to breach security at a press conference attended by President Donald Trump with attempted assassination of the US president.
Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, also faces three counts of firearms charges, prosecutors announced Monday.
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If convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Allen wore a blue prison jumpsuit for his first appearance in federal court in Washington, D.C. It comes two days after authorities said they had thwarted an attack on the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an annual gathering of journalists and politicians in the US capital.
“He attempted to assassinate the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantyne said in court.
Mr. Allen has not yet responded to the allegations. Seated at a defense table flanked by federal marshals, Allen said he would answer all questions honestly and said he has a master’s degree in computer science.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered Allen held in custody pending the proceeding of the case. Mr. Sharbaugh scheduled another hearing on Thursday regarding Mr. Allen’s continued detention.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., said more charges could be filed against Allen as the investigation progresses.
“Make no mistake about it. This was an assassination attempt on the president of the United States, and the defendant made clear what his intentions were. And his intentions were to oust as many senior cabinet members as possible,” Pirro told reporters on Monday.
Citing a manifesto allegedly written by the suspect, she said his targets were prioritized by government officials “from top to bottom.”
Pirro added that Allen was allegedly in possession of a semi-automatic handgun, a shotgun and three knives. She said authorities believe the gun was purchased in California.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen traveled by train from his home near Los Angeles to Chicago and Washington.
He arrived in the US capital on April 24, the day before the dinner, and checked into the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the event would be held.
During dinner, Blanche said, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel’s terrace floor, one floor above the banquet hall where Trump was.
“He walked through the magnetometer with a long gun, and that’s when the U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot,” Blanche said.
“One of the Secret Service agents was shot in the chest, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest and it worked. This heroic agent who was shot fired five shots at Allen, who was not shot, but fell to the ground and was quickly arrested.”
The shooting, considered the third assassination attempt on President Donald Trump since 2024, has rocked US politics, with the White House accusing the US president’s Democratic rivals of inciting political violence with verbal attacks on the administration.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters early Monday that “the outrageous lies and slander against the president, his family, and his supporters make crazy people believe crazy things, and their words inspire them to commit acts of violence.”
“That has to stop.”
Mr. Levitt told reporters that President Trump does not consider the incident to be a national security failure.
“There was a criminal who tried to breach the security parameters set by the Secret Service, but he was running at full speed and was quickly neutralized,” Levitt said.
