New charge brought against suspect in Trump assassination attempt
A federal grand jury indicted Cole Tomas Allen on May 5 for allegedly trying to kill the president and for assaulting a federal officer. His case has been assigned to a Trump-appointed judge.
Aysha BagchiWASHINGTON − Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last month, is facing a new charge of assaulting a federal officer with a shotgun.
A federal grand jury indicted Allen on May 5, after the Department of Justice previously brought charges against him through a criminal complaint in late April. While the Constitution requires serious federal charges to eventually be brought through an indictment, criminal complaints are permitted temporarily, and can help the government hold someone as it prepares to seek an indictment.
The indictment charges Allen with the three crimes previously alleged in the complaint, namely, attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm across state lines in order to commit a felony and using a firearm during a violent crime.
But the new charge – assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon – raises the stakes even further. The indictment alleges that Allen forcibly assaulted, intimidated or interfered with a U.S. officer using a shotgun.
"Today’s indictment underscores a simple truth: there is evidence this defendant intended to assassinate the president, and that he shot a U.S. Secret Service officer after he traversed the country with a cache of ammunition to accomplish his goals,” Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.
Lawyers for Allen didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
The charges stem from Allen's alleged attack at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at DC's Washington Hilton hotel April 25. President Donald Trump and several other top U.S. officials were present at the dinner.
The government has released video that appears to show Allen running through a magnetometer and brandishing a gun in the hotel. Allen was arrested after he fired a shotgun in the direction of stairs leading to the ballroom dinner area, prosecutors said in an April 29 court filing.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned and have a conference on the status of his case May 11 before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2017.
Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler – USA TODAY