Cole Allen to remain in jail ahead of trial

OK, breaking news right off the top. The man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump is in court again today. Lawyers for Cole Allen agreed to allow their client to stay behind bars. So what happened at that hearing? Let's go now to CBS News Anna Schecter. Hi, Anna. Hey, good to be with you, Reed.

OK, so what's your readout from what happened today? From everything I'm understanding, they've agreed to have him stay behind bars for now, but that could change in the future. They left that option open. That's right. Well, remember yesterday his lawyers filed a memorandum with the court asking that he be released after all of this. I mean, that would have been really stunning, saying that, one, he didn't name President Donald Trump by name. He was gainfully employed by a tutor. He lives with his family, so he is no threat to the public. And then the lawyers told the judge today-- his defense attorneys said that after speaking with him, he has agreed to remain in detention. We also learned he's being held at maximum security 24 hours a day, monitoring probably so that he doesn't harm himself. So he is going to be staying there. And then we might revisit this. But the next hearing is scheduled for May 11th. So that's a week from Monday. That's a preliminary hearing scheduled. In the intervening week, we could very well see a full indictment come down. Remember, we just had the complaint with those three charges, attempting to assassinate the president of the United States and then two other weapons-related charges, transferring them across state lines with the intent to commit a felony. But we have not seen a formal indictment. We've seen a memorandum to the court filed with all those great details that we were reporting on yesterday, what he was Google searching on his train trip across the country as he was preparing allegedly to carry out this attack and what happened in those 30 minutes leading up to that attack, where we saw him take a selfie in the mirror of his hotel room. So we've had lots of drip, drip, drip details and information, but we are waiting on that formal indictment, Reed.

And we're also so fascinated because I know you and I always love to dig into crime stories and try to understand profiles when-- Absolutely. --these things happen. We saw Luigi Mangione and his case, and we saw a lot of people saying they could see an evolution where his thinking was concerned. What do we know about Cole Allen and maybe what he was thinking in the days leading up to this? Does he meet any sort of profile? Well, this is somebody who did not have a prolific presence on social media, but he did have a Bluesky account. And he has a different profile. He was very religious, Christian. And in fact, his lawyers noted that in the memorandum that they filed in court. And we've also-- our teams have spoken to people who he went to college with. So he's a devout Christian, and he was clearly influenced by extreme left ideology such that he justified in his own mind carrying out an attack on administration officials. And why do I say this? Well, in that email that he allegedly sent to his family, he talked about these hypothetical victims. And these are people that we have heard about in the news. But he was describing it as such an extreme, like somebody who was raped in a detention center, a hypothetical victim. He gave several other examples. And so that's why I think social media really did influence him. He also posted to social media expressing some of those views. But I will say, Reed, it was not-- I did not see anything extremist in what he was posting, but we're drilling down, trying to find who he was interacting with in the months leading up to this. So we'll keep you posted, Reed, as we learn more.

As you always do, that digital footprint that they will definitely use as markers along his journey. Anna Schecter, thank you so much. Let's continue the conversation live with CBS News senior reporter Melissa Quinn. Melissa, good to have you with us today. You were inside that courtroom. What did you see? Well, Cole Allen came into the courtroom shortly after the magistrate judge here brought everyone to order. He was wearing a short-sleeved orange jumpsuit and did not address the court directly. He did consult with his lawyers about what was going on, but otherwise stayed silent. He did not turn around to look also at those in attendance.

Did you get a sense that he had any family member support there or anybody who was in the courtroom who was perhaps wanting to take this in from a personal standpoint?

It doesn't appear that he did have family members in the courtroom. And it's very interesting because in the lead up to this hearing, his lawyers had warned the court that they were having trouble getting into contact with him so they could consult with him about what was going to take place today. And as Anna said, in the run up to these proceedings, we know that his lawyers advocated for his release, saying that the nature of these charges, that there was questions about the evidence that the Justice Department had collected. And, of course, when we got to court today, they informed the judge that after finally consulting with their client, he was OK with remaining detained.

And I understand that they kept that as an option that they can revisit that at another time. Yes, absolutely. And the government, interestingly, also really wanted to push forward with this hearing so that they could put out in court the evidence that they had collected this far. The judge, however, really quickly tamped that down and said it would be inefficient and essentially a waste of the court's time.

OK, Melissa Quinn, thank you so much. Good to talk to you.