(WASHINGTON) — Cole Allen, the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night, made a brief first court appearance on Monday to face charges, including attempted assassination of the president.
Allen, 31, walked in wearing a blue jumpsuit and took his seat at the defense table. The Torrance, California, native faces three felony counts of attempted assassination of the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. This is the third assassination attempt President Donald Trump has faced.
The first count of attempting to assassinate the president carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, if convicted.
Allen did not enter a plea.
As Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh asked Allen the routine series of questions for defendants charged in federal court, he nodded and readily answered with, “Yes, your honor.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said the government was seeking Allen’s continued detention pending trial.
Ballantine said Allen attempted to assassinate Trump using a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and said he was also carrying a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol, three knives “and other dangerous paraphernalia.”
Public defender Tezira Abe indicated the defense may seek to contest detention, noting he has no prior arrest record and is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Sharbaugh scheduled a detention hearing for Thursday and ordered Allen to be temporarily detained until then. Allen’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Monday that the suspect’s “intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.”
Allen appears to have shared social media posts that were critical of Trump and his administration — including calling for Trump’s removal — on the social media platform Bluesky.
In addition to sharing posts denouncing Trump’s policies — including the war with Iran, increased ICE enforcement actions, and the U.S. diminished support for Ukraine — Allen also appeared to share posts criticizing a reporter in connection with the correspondents’ dinner. His account shared posts that described an effort to highlight press freedoms related to the event as “pathetic” and akin to a “white flag … [to] wave in defeat.”
A Bluesky spokesperson said, “Violence has no place in our public discourse, and we are committed to providing people with the platform and tools to engage in healthy conversation.”
“Our Trust & Safety team is actively reviewing and taking action against content that violates Bluesky’s Community Guidelines, including posts that amplify misinformation, or glorify violence or harm,” Bluesky said.
Allen — a trained mechanical engineer working as a tutor — was tackled by law enforcement after the gunfire inside the Washington Hilton, where thousands of journalists as well as Trump and members of his Cabinet were gathered for the annual event.
A Secret Service member was shot during the incident but the bullet hit the agent’s protective vest, Trump said. The president said he spoke with the agent and he was in good spirits.
According to the criminal complaint, on April 6 Allen made a reservation at the Washington Hilton for Friday through Sunday.
Allen traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago on Tuesday, and then from Chicago to D.C. on Thursday and Friday, according to the criminal complaint. He checked into his hotel room at the Hilton at 3 p.m. Friday, the complaint said.
At about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel’s terrace level, which leads toward the ballroom, the complaint said. As Allen ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun, Secret Service “heard a loud gunshot” and an officer was shot in his ballistic vest, the complaint said.
That same officer fired toward Allen multiple times; Allen fell to the ground but was not shot, the complaint said. Allen “was not injured, other than some kind of scrape on his knee,” Pirro said.
Allen bought his pistol in 2023 and his shotgun in 2025, the complaint said.
ABC News’ Lauren Minore, Luke Barr, Nicholas Kerr, Ivan Pereira, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, John Santucci, Michelle Stoddart, Lucien Bruggeman, Oren Oppenheim, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
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