White House correspondents’ dinner suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump

Cole Allen, the 31-year-old California man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, was charged April 27 with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, transporting a firearm across state lines, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges during an April 27 press briefing. The attempted assassination charge could carry a life sentence. A detention hearing is set for April 30, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11.

“Let this be a message to anyone who thinks that Washington D.C. is the place to act out political violence, and if you are willing to do so with a firearm across state lines, we will find you,” U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro said during the briefing. “We will track your steps from the inception of your plan, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.” 

As Zeale News previously reported, the shooting occurred April 25 at the Washington Hilton, where the annual event was underway. Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump and other administration officials out of the venue after shots were heard in the lobby. 

According to media reports, Allen allegedly emailed a manifesto to his family members before the attack, saying he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

>> Trump describes third assassination attempt: 'they go after consequential presidents’ <<

Officials detail timeline, weapons

Blanche said Allen reserved a room at the Washington Hilton for three nights, April 24-26. Allen traveled by train from his home near Los Angeles to Chicago on April 21, arrived April 23, then boarded another train that arrived in Washington around 1 p.m. April 24. 

About two hours later, he checked into the Washington Hilton and remained there overnight. Around 8:40 p.m. April 25, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel’s terrace level and ran through a magnetometer while holding a long gun, according to an unsealed affidavit reported by NBC News.

Secret Service personnel then heard a gunshot, and an officer was struck once in the chest, the affidavit said. The officer, who was wearing a ballistic vest, suffered minor injuries.

Allen was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 caliber pistol at the time of his arrest, according to the affidavit. Records reportedly show that Allen bought the shotgun in August 2025 from a California dealer and the pistol in October 2023 from a dealer in another California city.

White House blames violent rhetoric for attack

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt returned to the briefing room April 27, postponing her anticipated maternity leave to condemn political violence and address the shooting. 

“Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets and more violence than President Trump,” Leavitt said. “This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party, and even some in the media.”

She read a selection of comments from Democratic leaders — including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Adam Schiff of California, and Alex Padilla of California — arguing they contributed to a broader climate of hostility.

“Those who constantly falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points are fueling this kind of violence,” Leavitt said.

She also criticized remarks made by ABC’s late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who, during an April 23 broadcast, imagined himself as a headliner at the gala. 

“And of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said during the show.

First Lady Melania Trump called Kimmel’s remarks in an April 27 statement “hateful and violent” and “intended to divide our country,” while the President urged ABC to fire Kimmel.

Leavitt also said the shooting highlights the importance of ensuring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is funded. 

“This defunding of DHS should be a national scandal,” she said. “If Republicans defunded DHS, and we saw another attempted assassination on a Democrat president, I would hope that the media coverage would be relentless and unforgiving, and I hope that it continues to be now.”

DOJ presses preservation group to drop the ballroom lawsuit

Separately, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has urged the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop its lawsuit challenging Trump’s privately funded ballroom project.

“[Y]our lawsuit puts the lives of the president, his family, and his staff at grave risk,” Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Division, wrote in an April 26 letter to opposing counsel. 

“Enough is enough,” Shumate added. “Your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today in light of last night's assassination attempt on President Trump.”

Shortly after the shooting, Trump told reporters the attack underscored the need for the ballroom, describing it as a more secure space.

National Trust President and CEO Carol Quillen said April 27 the group will not dismiss the lawsuit. 

“We are not planning to voluntarily dismiss our lawsuit, which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law,” Quillen said, according to FOX News. “Ballroom construction is continuing unabated until June 5th at the earliest because the injunction is on hold. We have always acknowledged the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House. Building it lawfully requires the approval of Congress, which the Administration could seek at any time.”