WHCA dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen faces federal charges after alleged assassination attempt
Cully Stimson, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, discusses Cole Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner shooting, facing federal charges, including attempting to assassinate the president.
The Department of Justice is urging a federal court to keep Cole Allen, the suspect accused of opening fire at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, behind bars pending trial.
The DOJ's filing on Wednesday includes a new photo showing Allen armed and inside a hotel room before the shooting unfolded.
"The United States of America, by and through its attorney, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, respectfully submits this memorandum in support of its oral motion to detain defendant Cole Tomas Allen pending trial," a filing notes. Jeanine Pirro is the U.S. district attorney for the District of Columbia.
Cole Allen seen in a hotel room before Trump assassination attempt during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. (Justice Department)
"At approximately 8:03 p.m., while back inside his hotel room, the defendant used his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror," the filing states, explaining that Allen "appeared to be wearing a small leather bag consistent in appearance with the ammunition-filled bag later recovered from his person (item 1), a shoulder holster (item 2), a sheathed knife consistent in appearance with one of the knives later recovered from his person (item 3), and pliers and wire cutters consistent in appearance with those later recovered from his person (item 4)."
The filing asserts that Allen was seeking to kill President Donald Trump.
UNEARTHED VIDEO REVEALS COLE ALLEN AS QUIET INVENTOR YEARS BEFORE ALLEGED BID TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP
President Donald Trump holds a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., shortly after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on April 25, 2026. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"Had the defendant achieved his intended outcome, he would have brought about one of the darkest days in American history. The defendant traveled across the country with the explicit aim to kill the President of the United States," the document declares, describing the effort as "a planned attack of unfathomable malice."
The Justice Department strongly argued that the suspect should not be released pending trial.
"The facts and circumstances in this case compel the conclusion that there is no condition or combination of conditions that would reasonably assure the community’s safety if the defendant were released pending trial," the filing asserts.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
"Detention is warranted based on the gravely serious and highly calculated nature of the defendant’s crimes, the overwhelming evidence of his guilt, and the intolerable risk that he will again resort to extreme violence to register political disagreement," the document states.
More from Politics
