Cole Thomas Allen Charged With Attempting to Assassinate President Trump at White House Correspondents' Dinner

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."

The New York Times and NPR led their coverage with the charges and the details of the affidavit, including Allen's written screed and the spent shell casing as the basis for the attempted assassination count. Fox News led with a separate but related development: Republican lawmakers' push to resolve a 74-day Department of Homeland Security funding lapse, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying the shooting underscored urgency to fund the Secret Service. The Washington Examiner's coverage focused on commentary from conservative commentator Tiana Lowe Doescher and on criticism of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over remarks made before the attack.

Blanche said investigators were working to determine whether Allen had connections to left-wing activists, and that his online activity, relatives, and associates were being reviewed. Leavitt separately accused Democrats and members of the news media of a "systemic demonization" of Trump that she said helped "legitimize this violence." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded by calling on House Republicans to bring the Senate-passed DHS funding bill to the floor immediately.

This was described as the third attempted assassination of Trump in under two years, following the July 2024 shooting at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally and a September 2024 incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was reported to be planning meetings with Secret Service, DHS, and other agency officials this week to review security practices for presidential events.