Dramatic surveillance video released Thursday shows would-be assassin Cole Thomas Allen storming the hallways of the Washington Hilton Hotel on April 24 and storming a Secret Service checkpoint at the hotel the next evening outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner where President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak.
The video shows the Secret Service agent quickly pulling out a handgun and firing multiple shots at Allen as he sprints towards the checkpoint and attempts to pass through it.
The new video was posted to X by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who is prosecuting Allen, a 31-year-old Caltech graduate and tutor from Torrance, California.
Pirro said investigators have found no evidence that the Secret Service agent who was shot during the incident was shot by another law enforcement agent, but he did not elaborate on that claim.
President Trump said the agent was not seriously injured because the shooting was stopped by protective gear.
The video was taken from a surveillance camera at the Hilton and tracks Mr. Allen’s movements on the night of April 24 and April 25, during the WHCA dinner.
The dinner was attended by President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, other Trump administration officials, and hundreds of journalists.
On April 24, a video shows Allen walking down a hallway with the same carpet design as seen in footage from the shooting scene the following night.
He is also seen entering a gym adjacent to the hallway, talking to a staff member inside, and exiting back into the hallway.
The next night, at 8:23 p.m., Allen was seen walking down the same hallway wearing a long coat.
The video then cuts to show a Secret Service checkpoint set up above the banquet hall to screen dinner attendees. The video timecode is 8:36 p.m.
Two officers are seen beginning to remove one of the two magnetometers installed at the location, and a person believed to be Allen walks down the hallway and through a side door about 10 paces behind the magnetometer.
Another officer with a dog approached the doorway and stood there for about 15 seconds before walking away.
The video then shows Allen running out the door with a shotgun and passing the magnetometer, which was still standing.
The Secret Service agent, who was talking with two other officers on the other side of the magnetometer, pulled out a handgun about two seconds after Allen exited the doorway and opened fire as soon as Allen ran by, firing at least three shots.
The video then shows three other Secret Service agents drawing their guns and pointing in the direction Allen ran.
He was tackled on the spot. His anxiety is not visible on the video.
In addition to the shotgun, Allen had a .38 caliber pistol, ammunition, multiple knives and a dagger, prosecutors said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the shotgun contained one spent shell casing.
Cole Thomas Allen’s courtroom sketch.
Provided by: Dana Verkouteren
“Today, we will release the video already provided to the U.S. District Court that shows Cole Allen shooting and killing a U.S. Secret Service agent who attempted to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Pirro said in an X post.
“There is no evidence that the shooting was the result of a friendly fire. Video also shows Allen surrounding the area of the Hilton hotel the day before the attack,” she said. “My office, along with the @FBI, will continue this extensive investigation to bring Cole Allen to justice.”
Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, transporting firearms and ammunition in interstate commerce, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Earlier Thursday, the Torrance, Calif., resident waived his right to challenge his detention in prison pending his trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., but his lawyers said he would retain the right to do so in the future.
