Cole Allen Pleads Not Guilty to Attempted Assassination of President Trump
Allen faces charges of attempted assassination of the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and multiple firearms offenses. If convicted, he could receive a life sentence.
Tommy Flynn
WASHINGTON — Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old California man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump, entered a not guilty plea Monday morning in federal court in the District of Columbia.
Allen faces charges of attempted assassination of the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and multiple firearms offenses. If convicted, he could receive a life sentence.
The April 25 incident occurred at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where Trump and senior administration officials were present. Prosecutors say Allen, armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives, approached a security checkpoint and opened fire, wounding a Secret Service agent before being subdued.
Allen, a tutor and computer programmer from Torrance, California, had no prior criminal record. Court filings note he sent a family email shortly before the attack expressing intent to target the president and other officials.
U.S. District Judge Zia Faruqui is presiding over the case. Allen remains in federal custody. The plea was entered during his formal arraignment following an earlier detention hearing.
The Justice Department has described the case as a serious act of political violence. No trial date has been set.
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