Cole Tomas Allen
Introduction
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is the man charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald J. Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington on 25 April 2026 — and on 13 November 2026 a federal grand jury added a terrorism count to his case . A five-count superseding indictment unsealed in US District Court charges Allen with, among other crimes, an act of terrorism while armed in connection with the shooting at the Washington Hilton, in which a Secret Service officer was shot in the chest . US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia announced the new charges .
Background Information
The 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner took place on 25 April 2026 at the Washington Hilton, with President Trump present . Allen had already been charged with 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 the intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence . The superseding indictment, case number 26cr98, adds one count of act of terrorism while armed — for the attempted first-degree murder of the President of the United States — under the DC criminal code, a count that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. A superseding indictment adds a terrorism count for the shotgun attack that wounded a Secret Service officer; Allen has not been tried.
Per the indictment, shortly after 8:30 p.m. Allen approached a US Secret Service security screening checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the hotel, sprinted through one of the magnetometers, and ran in the direction of the stairs leading to the ballroom where President Trump was located . As he did so he fired a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, hitting a Secret Service officer once in the chest; the officer drew a service weapon and fired five times at Allen . Allen fell to the ground, was restrained by law enforcement, and was placed under arrest; he suffered a minor injury to his knee but was not shot . At the time of his arrest he was in possession of the Mossberg shotgun with one spent cartridge in the barrel, a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 caliber pistol, dozens of rounds of unspent 12-gauge and .38 caliber ammunition, two knives, four daggers, multiple sheaths, multiple holsters, needle nose pliers and wire cutters .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The announcement by US Attorney Pirro’s office, whose National Security Section is prosecuting the case, positioned the new count within the district’s domestic-terrorism enforcement, with the release tagged under domestic terrorism and violent crime topics . The FBI Washington Field Office is conducting the investigation . No statement from Allen or a defence attorney was reported in the announcement .
Current Status
Allen is charged but not convicted: the case is pending in US District Court for the District of Columbia, and the maximum penalty he faces on the new terrorism count is life imprisonment . The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Jocelyn Ballantine, Charles R. Jones and Adam P. Barry of the National Security Section . No trial date was announced in the release .
Impact on Their Career/Life
Allen’s alleged shotgun attack at one of Washington’s most heavily secured annual events — an assault on a police line guarding a sitting President — has placed him at the center of a federal terrorism prosecution carrying a possible life sentence, the defining event of a 31-year-old man’s public record .
Sources
- “New Terrorism Charge Filed Against Alleged Shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner” — US Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia / justice.gov, November 2026: source