Photos Show Cole Tomas Allen Posing With Weapons Before Washington Press Dinner Attack
New photographic evidence, submitted by the US government, depicts Cole Tomas Allen, 31, allegedly posing with an array of weapons in his hotel room before the 25 April attack at the Washington Hilton. Allen stands accused of multiple charges, including attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors included these images in their motion to keep Allen detained ahead of trial, asserting his actions were "premeditated, violent, and calculated to cause death". The photographs reportedly show Allen in dress clothes, strapped with a sheathed knife and a bag of ammunition, taking selfies in front of a mirror at approximately 20:03 EST.
Allen is alleged to have carried a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun, and three knives when he reportedly breached a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. During the incident, President Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members, and other White House officials were swiftly evacuated from the ballroom after gunfire erupted. A Secret Service agent sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
The memorandum further alleges that Allen accessed websites providing live coverage of the dinner and the President's attendance in the half-hour preceding the event. He then reportedly discarded a long black coat concealing a pump-action shotgun before rushing the screening checkpoint with the weapon raised. Prosecutors contend that Allen's phone contained notes detailing observations from his journey from California to Washington, alongside an email sent to his family stating, "Administration officials... are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest."
If convicted, Allen faces a potential life sentence. The other charges, transportation of a firearm between states to commit a felony and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence, each carry maximum sentences of 10 years.
