White House correspondents’ dinner latest: Cole Allen charged with attempted assassination of the president

Cole Allen, the suspect in Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, was charged with the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and vowed in a note to go after administration officials, according to a criminal complaint.

Allen, 31, faces three felony counts of attempted assassination of the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. This is allegedly the third assassination attempt Trump has faced.

Allen allegedly wrote that administration officials were his targets, “not including [FBI Director Kash] Mr. Patel,” and were “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” the complaint said. He allegedly wrote that Secret Service agents were targets “only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible,” the criminal complaint said.

The note said hotel security, Capitol police and the National Guard were “not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me),” and hotel employees and guests were “not targets at all,” the complaint said.

The note said he would “go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary,” adding, ‘I really hope it doesn’t come to that,” according to the complaint

At a brief court appearance Monday, Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh asked Allen a routine series of questions for defendants charged in federal court, and the California native nodded and answered with, “Yes, your honor.”  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said the government was seeking Allen’s continued detention pending trial. Ballantine said Allen attempted to assassinate Trump using a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and said he was also carrying a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol, three knives “and other dangerous paraphernalia.”

Public defender Tezira Abe indicated the defense may seek to contest detention.

Sharbaugh scheduled a detention hearing for Thursday and ordered Allen to be temporarily detained until then. Allen’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11. 

Allen did not enter a plea.

At a news conference on Monday, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said, “This was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was — and that intent was to bring down as many of the high ranking cabinet officials as he could.”

Allen — a trained mechanical engineer working as a tutor — was tackled by law enforcement after the gunfire Saturday night inside the Washington Hilton hotel, where thousands of journalists as well as Trump and members of his Cabinet were gathered for the annual event. Allen did not reach the ballroom, where the dinner was underway.

A Secret Service member was shot during the incident, but the bullet hit the agent’s protective vest, Trump said.

It appears Allen shared social media posts on Bluesky that were critical of Trump and the administration, including calling for Trump’s removal.

In addition to sharing posts denouncing Trump’s policies — including the war with Iran, increased ICE enforcement actions, and the U.S.’s diminished support for Ukraine — Allen also appeared to share posts criticizing a reporter in connection with the correspondents’ dinner. His account shared posts that described an effort to highlight press freedoms related to the event as “pathetic” and akin to a “white flag … [to] wave in defeat.”

A Bluesky spokesperson said, “Violence has no place in our public discourse, and we are committed to providing people with the platform and tools to engage in healthy conversation.”

“Our Trust & Safety team is actively reviewing and taking action against content that violates Bluesky’s Community Guidelines, including posts that amplify misinformation, or glorify violence or harm,” Bluesky said. 

Allen’s alleged planning dates back at least several weeks.

According to the criminal complaint, on April 6 Allen made a reservation at the Washington Hilton for Friday through Sunday.

Allen traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago on Tuesday, and then from Chicago to D.C. on Thursday and Friday, according to the criminal complaint. He checked into his room at the Hilton at 3 p.m. Friday, the complaint said.

At about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel’s terrace level, which leads toward the ballroom, the complaint said. As Allen ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun, Secret Service “heard a loud gunshot,” and an officer was shot in his ballistic vest, the complaint said. It is not clear whose gunshot struck the officer.

That same officer fired toward Allen multiple times; Allen fell to the ground but was not shot, the complaint said. Allen “was not injured, other than some kind of scrape on his knee,” Pirro said.

Allen bought his pistol in 2023 and his shotgun in 2025 in California, according to the complaint and officials.

Pirro said Allen will face additional charges.

ABC News’ Lauren Minore, Luke Barr, Nicholas Kerr, Ivan Pereira, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, John Santucci, Michelle Stoddart, Lucien Bruggeman, Oren Oppenheim, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.