Cole Tomas Allen, a former California teacher, has been charged with four federal crimes stemming from an April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. He pleaded not guilty on all counts and is being held in 24-hour lockup.
The man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump with a shotgun pleaded not guilty in a DC courthouse on Monday. Cole Tomas Allen , 31, faces four federal charges stemming from the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner .
He has also been charged with transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon. Allen pleaded not guilty on all counts through his lawyer in Washington, DC, federal court. Last month, he broke through a Secret Service checkpoint outside the ballroom where Trump was seated while wielding a shotgun.
Officers opened fire, discharging five rounds and Allen was ultimately subdued, not by gunfire but after tripping and falling to the ground. During the chaotic exchange, prosecutors allege, Allen fired his shotgun at the agents, striking one officer in his bullet-resistant vest. The officer was briefly hospitalized but sustained no serious injuries. Allen, a former California teacher, was placed on suicide watch and confined to his cell under 24/7 lockdown in the weeks following his arrest at the Washington Hilton.
He sent an email to family members shortly before the shooting, outlining the attack he was about to carry out, according to the DOJ, and signed off with the self-styled nickname 'Friendly Federal Assassin.
' Federal prosecutors released a chilling selfie of Allen, pictured in his hotel room, apparently clad with weapons, moments before he charged a security checkpoint in an alleged plot to kill Trump. Prosecutors say that he took the mirror selfie in his hotel room at 8.03pm in full evening dress just minutes before he arrived at the event with a shotgun.
He was also wearing a 'small leather bag' filled with ammunition, a shoulder holster, a sheathed knife, pliers, and wire cutters. Allen was armed with seven knifes during the time of the attack, prosecutors say. After the video emerged, the Secret Service responded by claiming its security measures are 'rigorously tested' and 'were critical in mitigating the threat and preventing significant harm.
Cole Tomas Allen Attempted Assassination Donald Trump White House Correspondents' Association Dinner Secret Service Security Measures Selfie Armed With Weapons Plotted To Kill Trump
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