The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of Torrance, California, is scheduled to make his first federal court appearance in Washington, D.C., today on preliminary charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
According to law enforcement officials, Allen rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel shortly after the black-tie dinner began around 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Allen was armed with a Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge with a folding stock, pistol grip, and extended magazine tube, a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and multiple knives.
NEW PHOTOS: Photos obtained by CNN show alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman Cole Thomas Allen, as well as one of the weapons authorities say he had on him at the hotel hosting the dinner.
Allen is set to make his first court appearance in D.C. today.
MORE:…pic.twitter.com/iWnVARBzBS
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC)April 27, 2026
Shots were exchanged as security confronted him, and he was tackled and taken into custody before reaching the main ballroom, where President Donald Trump, members of his administration, and hundreds of journalists were gathered.
Trump and other officials were quickly evacuated from the stage. No guests were injured.
“It is clear that this individual was intent on doing as much harm as he could. Thank God for our law enforcement who acted so quickly to prevent what could have been a horrific event,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said during a press conference on Saturday night.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
