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The man accused of unleashing chaos at the Washington dinner shooting last month has officially entered a not guilty plea in federal court.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, faces federal gun charges and the staggering accusation of attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump. He appeared before US District Judge Trevor McFadden on Monday.
The defendant walked into the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit. His wrists and feet were shackled. Sources monitoring the proceedings described the scene as tense and heavily guarded.
Prosecutors lay out terrifying timeline behind the Washington dinner shooting
Authorities allege Allen attempted to storm a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel. He fired a shot at a US Secret Service agent during the encounter.
The federal agent was hit in the exchange of gunfire but survived. His bullet-proof vest absorbed the impact and saved his life.
Agents tackled Allen just short of a staircase leading down to the ballroom. The annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was getting underway inside with journalists and top officials present.
Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members, and several White House officials were rushed out immediately after the gunshots rang through the hotel.
Defense team moves aggressively to reshape the Washington dinner shooting case
Allen‘s legal team has already launched a bold effort to disqualify key prosecutors. They want all US attorneys in the Washington office removed from the case.
That includes US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro and Attorney General Todd Blanche. Defense lawyer Eugene Ohm argued both have publicly positioned themselves as victims of the attack.
He stated it would be wholly inappropriate for them to direct the prosecution. The Justice Department has until June 22 to respond to the request.
Court documents reveal Allen left his home near Los Angeles in Torrance, California on April 21. He traveled by train to Chicago before making his way toward Washington.
Prosecutors say he took photos in his hotel room around 8:03 PM EST. The images show him wearing dress clothes, a shoulder holster, pliers, and wire cutters. Other photos captured him posing with weapons strapped to his body and a bag of ammunition.
Investigators claim he spent the next half hour checking websites for live coverage of the dinner. He then made his way downstairs and sprinted through a metal detector toward the ballroom holding a shotgun with both hands raised.
