Federal prosecutors have added an armed terrorism charge against a California man accused of trying to reach Donald Trump with a shotgun during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington DC.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is named in a newly unsealed five-count superseding indictment filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The additional charge alleges he committed an act of terrorism while armed in connection with the attempted first-degree murder of the president under District of Columbia law.
The shooting took place shortly after 8.30pm on April 25 at the Washington Hilton, where Mr Trump was attending the annual dinner. The president was unharmed and was escorted from the area by his security detail.
According to prosecutors, Allen ran through a Secret Service checkpoint on the hotel’s terrace level and headed towards stairs leading to the ballroom. He allegedly fired a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-bore pump-action shotgun, striking a Secret Service officer in the chest.
The officer returned fire five times, prosecutors said. Allen fell to the ground and was arrested by law enforcement officers, suffering a minor knee injury but no gunshot wound.
The indictment alleges that Allen was carrying the shotgun with a spent cartridge in the chamber, as well as a Rock Island Armory .38-calibre pistol, dozens of rounds of ammunition, two knives, four daggers, sheaths, holsters, needle-nose pliers and wire cutters.
The terrorism count is in addition to four federal charges previously brought against him: attempting to assassinate the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, transporting firearms and ammunition across state lines with the intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Prosecutors say Allen made a reservation at the Washington Hilton on April 6 and travelled from California to Washington by train, via Chicago, before checking into the hotel on April 24. Investigators also allege that he followed online reports about Mr Trump’s movements before the dinner.
Federal prosecutors previously said Allen had sent an email to relatives and a former employer shortly before the shooting, warning that he was about to act. He was taken to Howard University Hospital for minor injuries after his arrest and later returned to custody, according to the Justice Department.
If convicted, Allen could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department are investigating, while prosecutors from the National Security Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are handling the case.
