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Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — The suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House press dinner on Saturday has been charged with attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump in an incident that has sparked a White House security review.
Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance in southern California, was also charged with two firearms offenses when he appeared in federal court in Washington DC on Monday. He did not enter a plea.
Allen was being represented by lawyers with the federal defender’s office and sat beside them in court in a blue jail jumpsuit. Three US marshals sat directly behind him during his appearance.
Allen has no record of criminal charges or a civil court history in Los Angeles county, according to a records search.
The weapons he had on him Saturday night included a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a pistol and three knives, according to Jocelyn Ballantine, a federal prosecutor.
Judge Matthew Sharbaugh asked Allen if he had taken any drugs in the last day or so, to which Allen responded no.
Dressed in a blue jumpsuit with a nametag, the suspect appeared calm at Monday's court appearance in the nation's capital.
He was softly spoken as he answered almost every question from the judge with either "yes, your honor" or "no, your honor".
He stated his age and said he had a master's degree.
The suspect studied at the prestigious California Institute of Technology, and worshipped at the Pasadena United Reformed Church in the Los Angeles area.
Attempting to assassinate the president carries a potential life sentence.
The other charges — transportation of a firearm between states to commit a felony and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence — both have maximum sentences of 10 years. The suspect is due to appear in court again on Thursday.
He was remanded in custody and prosecutors said more charges could be filed.
In an unusual appearance, Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, was also present in the courtroom, seated in the front row. After the court appearance, Pirro joined acting attorney general Todd Blanche and FBI director Kash Patel at the Department of Justice for a press conference to discuss the charges.
Pirro said that while there were only three charges on the file now, “there will be additional charges” as the case unfolds.
Investigators have yet to establish a motive. They believe the suspect acted alone. Police have been searching an address in Torrance linked to Allen, and writings reportedly found in his hotel room are also being examined as part of the investigation.
To establish the charge of attempted assassination, the affidavit quotes from a part of a manifesto Allen allegedly sent to family members shortly before he was tackled and subdued on Saturday night outside the Hilton hotel ballroom.
“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” the manifesto attributed to Allen reads. “Administration officials (not including Mr Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” it adds.
The suspect is thought to have traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where he checked in as a guest at the Washington Hilton, where the glitzy annual journalists’ gala was being held.
The suspect allegedly rushed through a security checkpoint one floor above the basement venue.
"One Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a news conference on Monday.
"This heroic officer who was hit fired five times at Allen, who was not shot but fell to the ground and was promptly arrested."
Blanche said the suspect is believed to have discharged his shotgun at least once.
It is not clear whether the Secret Service agent was shot by the suspect, or was caught in crossfire from other law enforcement. The agent has been released from the hospital.
Trump had agreed to attend this year’s dinner for the first time as a sitting president after boycotting previous years. Several top members of his cabinet, including Vice-President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were also in attendance, along with thousands of members of the media.
Trump called the attacker a “lone wolf whack job” as he returned to the White House on Saturday night in an extraordinary news conference soon after the incident, with the president and several members of the press still in their ballroom attire.
After leaving the same hotel where former president Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, Trump told reporters that being president was “a dangerous profession”. “When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” he said.
“It’s always shocking when something like this happens,” Trump went on. “I can’t be so concerned that I can’t function.”
Despite police still working to establish a motive, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on Sunday morning that the event was “hijacked by a depraved crazy person who sought to assassinate the president and kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible”.
As US investigators look into the third alleged assassination attempt against Trump, security officials are reviewing the president's protection protocols.
Many have questioned whether the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton was strong enough, why attendees were not asked to show ID at the event, and why the president, vice-president and others in the line of succession were all gathered in one place.
In Monday's news conference, the acting attorney general maintained that "law enforcement did not fail" in its job to protect the event.
He noted that the gunman was one floor away, "with hundreds of federal agents between him and the President of the United States".
The Washington Hilton, where John Hinckley Jr attempted to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan 45 years ago, said it had followed security instructions from the Secret Service.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will convene a meeting this week to "discuss protocol and practices for major events", the official also said. — Agencies
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