The man accused of opening fire at a Washington dinner attended by Donald Trump was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the US president and could face life in prison if convicted.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, wore a blue jail-issue V-neck shirt and pants at his first appearance in Washington federal court, two days after authorities said he launched an unsuccessful attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, an annual black-tie gathering of journalists and politicians.
His hands were cuffed behind his back as he was led into and out of the courtroom. “He attempted to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said.
The incident is the latest in a pattern of political violence in the United States. Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a rally last September, months after a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were killed. Trump himself was the target of two assassination attempts in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters after the hearing that investigators believe Allen targeted Trump in part because he appeared to refer to the president as a “traitor” and called him other epithets in an email he sent to relatives the night of the incident.
