UPDATED: Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect apprehended after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Allen, 31, of Torrance, CA, also was charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime and transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce, according to a court filing.
Allen made his first appearance in federal court Monday.
The suspect is accused of storming a security checkpoint at the dinner Saturday, leading to a shooting before he was apprehended. The suspect had been staying at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was held.
RELATED: Trump Celebrity Supporters: Famous Folks In Favor Of The 47th President
The noise of the shots was heard in the ballroom, where guests were finishing an appetizer before the main course at the annual dinner. Attendees dropped to the floor and under tables as Secret Service agents scrambled to rush Trump and First Lady Melania Trump from the dais, along with other administration officials.
Justice Department officials are scheduled to brief the media on Monday afternoon.
On Sunday, media outlets reported the authorities had retrieved writings from the suspect, including a “manifesto” in which he wrote of targeting Trump administration officials.
According to an affidavit filed in federal court, the suspect made reservations at the Hilton on April 6, then traveled by train from California to Washington.
Per the affidavit, Allen “approached and ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun. As he did so, U.S. Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot.”
The filing does not specify whether the shot came from the suspect. A Secret Service agent was shot once in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest at the time, according to the filing. The agent drew his weapon and shot multiple times at Allen, “who fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries but was not shot,” according to the court filing. Allen was carrying a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 caliber pistol, according to the documents. The suspect was taken to Howard University Hospital for minor injuries but then released into law enforcement custody.
Per the affidavit, Allen allegedly sent an email to his family and former employer “explaining the actions he was about to make.” The email included the statement, “I wish I could have said anything
earlier, but doing so would have made none of this possible. My sincerest apologies for all the
trouble I’ve caused.” He had scheduled the email to send at around 8:40, near the time that he ran through the security perimeter.
The email also included an attachment, labeled “Apology and Explanation,” per the court document.
In the attachment, the suspect wrote, “Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest
“Secret Service: they are targets only if necessary, and to be incapacitated nonlethally if possible (aka, I hope they’re wearing body armor because center mass with shotguns messes up people who *aren’t*
Hotel Security: not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me)
Capitol Police: same as Hotel Security
National Guard: same as Hotel Security
Hotel Employees: not targets at all
Guests: not targets at all”
The suspect wrote, per the filing, “In order to minimize casualties I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls) I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a pedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”
He signed the email, “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen.”
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings