Shooting suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump

Washington: Alleged Washington hotel shooter Cole Tomas Allen faces a maximum sentence of life in prison after he was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States.

Allen, 31, appeared in court for the first time on Monday afternoon (US time) wearing a short-sleeve light blue prison uniform.

He appeared calm as judge Matthew Sharbaugh explained his legal rights, and he affirmed that he understood. He did not ask any questions of the judge.

Three US court marshalls surrounded the defence bench. Allen glanced at the packed courtroom gallery several times, and mostly kept his eyes on whomever was speaking. At the hearing’s conclusion, he was led out of the courtroom without handcuffs.

In addition to the attempted assassination charge, Allen was also charged with transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence. Those offences carry potential jail terms, with the latter a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence.

Allen will remain in police custody until at least Thursday, when he will appear before a bail hearing. Both parties also agreed to a preliminary case hearing on May 11.

The incident took place at the Washington Hilton hotel just after 8.30pm on Saturday night, while Trump and many senior Trump administration officials were inside the hotel ballroom for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Allen is alleged to have rushed through security barricades armed with several weapons at which time Secret Service agents fired their weapons. Allen was not hit by a bullet.

Federal prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said the government alleged that Allen “attempted to assassinate the president of the United States with a 12-gauge pump action shotgun”. He was also allegedly found with a handgun and three knives, prosecutors told the court.

Allen’s court-appointed lawyers noted he had no prior convictions and was presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The US attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, was seated in the courtroom’s front row for the 10-minute hearing.

At press conference shortly after the court hearing, Pirro and other officials confirmed key details of the government’s case against Allen, and said additional charges would be laid.

“Make no mistake – this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was,” Pirro said.

“That intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could. This is the kind of situation that we cannot tolerate.”

The prosecution alleges that on April 6, Allen booked a three-night stay at the Washington Hilton from April 24 to 27. On April 21, he left his home near Los Angeles and travelled by train to Chicago, before arriving in Washington on April 24.

He allegedly wrote a manifesto that he sent to family members minutes before the attack. Pirro said his writings may appear a bit “la la la”, but his intention to target Trump administration officials was clear. “Any suggestion that he wasn’t there to do harm is absurd.”

Allen was not charged with assaulting a federal officer on Monday, as Pirro had previously indicated he would be. Acting US attorney-general Todd Blanche said it had not been confirmed whose bullet struck the Secret Service agent who was injured in the attack.

“We want to get that right. We’re still looking at that,” Blanche said. “All the evidence is being examined very carefully and expeditiously, and we’ll know more soon.

“We do believe … defendant fired out of his shotgun. But as far as getting into exact ballistics, I’m not going to do that today.”

Blanche doubled down on his demand for conservationists to drop their lawsuit against Trump’s planned White House ballroom so that there could be a secure venue for future events of this kind.

Carol Quillen, chief executive of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said on Monday that the group would not abandon the lawsuit, “which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the administration to follow the law”.

“We have always acknowledged the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House. Building it lawfully requires the approval of Congress, which the administration could seek at any time,” Quillen said.

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