OAN Staff Jenna Lee and Brooke Mallory
3:33 PM – Monday, April 27, 2026
Federal prosecutors have charged 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, with two counts of federal firearms violations and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
According to statements made by a federal prosecutor during Monday’s court hearing, Allen traveled to Washington, D.C., armed with a pump-action shotgun, a handgun, and three knives. Authorities say he arrived with the specific intent to carry out a political assassination during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“We do believe that, as the complaint lays out, that the defendant fired out of his shotgun,” Todd Blanche, the U.S. acting attorney general, told reporters upon hearing that a spent shotgun shell was found at the scene.
According to the affidavit, Secret Service agents heard a “loud gunshot” as Allen rushed a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton. An officer, identified in court documents by the initials “V.G.,” was struck once in the chest but was saved by a bulletproof vest.
During the proceedings, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche noted that while the officer managed to return fire — discharging five rounds at Allen — the defendant was not hit.
“We want to get that right, so we are still looking at that,” he added, as investigators worked to determine who fired the shot.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt further condemned the incident, attributing the violence to a “left-wing cult of hatred” directed at President Trump, his administration, and his supporters. In her statement, Leavitt placed blame on hateful Democrat-led rhetoric and the mainstream media for fueling such animosity.
While officials argued that security protocols functioned effectively, noting that the defendant was intercepted before reaching the ballroom, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is slated to meet with the Secret Service, the DHS, and other high-ranking officials this week. The meeting aims to review security practices ahead of several high-profile events scheduled for the coming months.
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