APRIL 28, 2026
Cole Thomas Allen Charged With Attempting to Assassinate President Trump at White House Correspondents' Dinner
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate President Trump after authorities say he breached a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. Allen brought a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun, and three knives to the event, which was attended by more than 2,000 guests including President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and members of the cabinet. One Secret Service agent was shot in the chest but was protected by a bulletproof vest.
According to a federal affidavit unsealed Monday, Allen approached a security checkpoint inside the Washington Hilton around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday and ran through a magnetometer carrying the shotgun. Secret Service agents heard a loud gunshot; an injured agent drew his weapon and fired five times at Allen, who fell and was arrested with only minor injuries, the affidavit stated. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators believed Allen had fired his weapon because a spent shotgun shell was found inside the chamber, though he noted further forensic examination would be conducted.
Shortly before the incident, Allen sent an email to his family and a former employer expressing deep anger at the administration and the president, according to the affidavit. The roughly 1,000-word document described administration officials as his "targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest," according to law enforcement officials cited by The New York Times. Allen also wrote that he was surprised he had been able to check into the hotel a day before the event with the firearms and a knife, according to that document.
Trump and members of his administration were escorted from the ballroom unharmed. Blanche stated at a news conference that Allen never reached the ballroom and was stopped a floor above it, with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump expressed confidence in the Secret Service, and praised the agent who "took a bullet to the chest."