Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that the alleged gunman who tried to force his way past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was not cooperating with authorities.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced late Saturday night that Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, California, had been charged with using a firearm in a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer.
On “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” Bash asked Blanche how the Department of Justice had gathered information on Allen, who had told authorities he was targeting Trump administration officials,accordingto the New York Post.
“Is he talking to law enforcement or is this information that you got through other means?” Bash asked Blanche.
“Is he talking?” Bash followed up.
“No… I expect he’ll be charged tomorrow morning in federal court with two counts in a complaint,” Blanche replied. “We are not viewing him as cooperating right necessarily now, although we’ll see what happens going forward.”
The CNN host then asked Blanche if it “is possible” the suspect could be later “charged with trying to assassinate” President Donald Trump.
“Absolutely,” the Acting Attorney General replied. “The way that these charges work, a lot of the charges he could be charged with depends on us understanding his motive, his premeditation, what he wanted to do. And that requires us to go through the evidence and develop a case which the FBI is working on now.”
Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and other senior administration officials off the stage of the dinner being held at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night after the exchange of gunfire.
Trump told reporters during a press conference at the White House that he “fought like hell” for the event to go on after the incident, but that the Secret Service invoked “protocol.”
Source: VidNews » Feed
