WASHINGTON — The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April now faces a terrorism charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was charged in a five-count superseding indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced. The new count charges an act of terrorism while armed, tied to the alleged attempted first-degree murder of President Donald J. Trump, under the D.C. criminal code.
Allen already faced four counts: attempting to assassinate the president, assaulting an officer or employee of the United States with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. With the added count, the maximum penalty he faces is life imprisonment, prosecutors said.
The dinner took place April 25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton, with President Trump present. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., prosecutors said, Allen approached a U.S. Secret Service security screening checkpoint on the hotel’s Terrace Level, sprinted through one of the magnetometers and ran toward the stairs leading to the ballroom where the president was located.
As he ran, Allen fired a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, hitting a Secret Service officer once in the chest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The officer drew his service weapon and fired five times. Allen fell to the ground, was restrained and was arrested. He suffered a minor injury to his knee but was not shot, prosecutors said.
At his arrest, Allen had the shotgun, with one spent cartridge in the barrel, prosecutors said. He also had a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38-caliber pistol, dozens of rounds of shotgun and .38-caliber ammunition, two knives, four daggers, multiple sheaths and holsters, needle nose pliers and wire cutters, according to the release.
Allen, of Torrance, California, has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges and had not entered a plea on the terrorism count, FOX 5 DC reported.
The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Ballantine, Charles R. Jones and Adam P. Barry of the National Security Section are prosecuting it.
An indictment is an allegation. Allen is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.