Trial date set for man accused of trying to kill Trump at correspondents’ dinner
The suspect railed against Trump before the shooting and referred to himself as a ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’
A federal judge has set a trial date for the man accused of trying to kill President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner earlier this year.
Jury selection for Cole Tomas Allen's trial is scheduled to start on Sept. 7, 2027, and the trial in Washington, D.C., is expected to last three to four weeks.
Prosecutors wanted the trial to begin in May 2027 but U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden set the later date after one of Allen's attorneys requested more time to prepare.
Video showed Allen, of Torrance, California, allegedly rushing the media dinner with guns and knives and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the April 25, 2026, attack at the Washington Hilton hotel. The officer was struck once in a bullet-resistant vest and fired five shots but didn’t hit anybody, authorities said. Allen was injured but not from gunfire.
White House officials, including Trump and first lady Melania, were rushed to safety in dramatic scenes inside the ballroom before the event, one of the most high-profile annual events in DC, was canceled.
“I was watching to see what was happening, probably should have gotten down even faster,” Trump said at a briefing shortly after the shooting. “Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened. I think she knew immediately what happened. She was saying, 'That's a bad noise.’”
“It’s a dangerous profession,” Trump said after being asked if he was concerned about his safety.
A new date was set at a different venue, and Trump returned to speak at the rescheduled dinner three months later.
Allen, a 31-year-old computer engineer from California, railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” in writings that he sent to family members before the attack, authorities said.
He faces an attempted assassination charge that carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. Allen also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.
The assassination attempt at the correspondents’ dinner came after Trump was shot in another assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024. A bullet grazed his ear before the 20-year-old gunman was shot dead by security personnel.