Suspect in White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting charged with assassination attempt
The suspected gunman in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was charged Monday in federal court with three counts including attempting to assassinate the president.
Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is charged with:
- Using a firearm during a crime of violence;
- Transportation of firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony;
- Attempt to assassinate the president of the United States.
Allen did not enter a plea in Monday's hearing. He will remain in federal detention through at least Thursday, when he has his next court appearance, a detention hearing at 11 a.m. in front of another magistrate judge in D.C.
Federal prosecutors allege that Allen traveled across "multiple state lines" with firearms, which federal prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine identified as a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a .38 semi-auto pistol, as well as three knives.
"Make no mistake, 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 as he could," U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
President Trump and other top administration officials were evacuated after shots rang out Saturday night at the annual media dinner, which was packed with more than 2,500 politicians, journalists and celebrity guests. Authorities said a Secret Service agent was struck by a round but was protected by a bulletproof vest and has since been released from the hospital.
Security officers quickly apprehended the suspect, who was evaluated at a local hospital before being moved to a D.C. jail.
Authorities said Allen had traveled by train from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in the days ahead of the event, knowing that the president would be in attendance.
"He was very much aware that the president and first lady entered the ballroom at 8 p.m.," Pirro said. She said a manifesto Allen wrote "made clear" that he was targeting administration officials.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the investigation is ongoing, and emphasized that law enforcement officers did their job.
"I want to make this clear — this man was a floor above the ballroom with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president of the United States," Blanche said.
"We are investigating this matter fully," he continued. "We will apply the law fairly and we will ensure that accountability is swift and certain. But we also should recognize what should not happen. Law enforcement did not fail."
Blanche said the investigation so far has entailed search warrants in California and Washington, D.C., as well as many interviews. He also detailed the timeline of the incident laid out in the FBI affidavit, which was released shortly before the press conference began.
Pirro initially said Saturday night that Allen would be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, and that additional charges were likely Monday.
"It is clear, based upon what we know so far, that this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could, and thankfully, because of the checkpoint right outside the ballroom where thousands of people were situated to hear the president of the United States, that checkpoint worked," Pirro said hours after the shooting. "There was no one who was injured, but it was clear where this defendant was going."
CBS News obtained a copy of what investigators described as a manifesto written by Allen that he sent to family members. In his alleged writings, Allen said he planned the attack because he didn't want the "crimes" of the administration to "coat [his] hands." He didn't refer to Mr. Trump or the event by name, but allegedly said he intended to target administration officials "prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest."