Allen faces life in prison over shotgun attack on Secret Service officer
A federal judge on Thursday set a September 2027 trial date for Cole Tomas Allen, the man charged with attempting to kill President Donald Trump at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden scheduled jury selection to begin Sept. 7 in Washington, D.C. The trial is expected to last approximately three to four weeks.
Allen, of Torrance, California, is accused of storming the WHCA dinner while armed 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.
Authorities said the officer, struck once in a bullet-resistant vest, fired five shots but didn’t hit anybody. Allen was injured, but not from gunfire.
Prosecutors had recommended starting the trial in May 2027, but McFadden set the later date after one of Allen’s attorneys asked for more time to prepare.
The attack brought an early end to one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. President Donald Trump returned to speak at the rescheduled dinner three months later.
In writings that he sent to relatives before the attack, Allen railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin,” authorities said.
Allen faces an attempted assassination charge that carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. He also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.