WASHINGTON — A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner is seeking to disqualify top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.
Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.
In a court filing late Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.
“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder — how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.
Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other Justice Department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.
“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.
Pirro said her office will respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.
“We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,” Pirro said in a statement.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.
The charges include attempting to assassinate President Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro’s. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department last year.
Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office.
Allen also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.
The Secret Service officer who was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest fired his own weapon five times without hitting anybody. Allen, 31, of Torrance, was injured but was not shot.
April 26 (UPI) — The Trump administration asked the National Trust for Historic Preservation on Sunday to end its legal challenge to President Donald Trump‘s ballroom following Saturday’s arrest at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, saying its lawsuit “puts the lives of the president, his family and staff at grave risk.”
“Enough is enough. Your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today in light of last night’s assassination attempt on President Trump,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a letter to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawyers.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., was arrested Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner hosted at the Washington Hilton Hotel with Trump, his family, members of his Cabinet and many others in attendance.
U.S. Secret Service agents apprehended the suspect — armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives — who allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel’s lobby, authorities said.
Law enforcement and the suspect exchanged gunfire, resulting in an agent sustaining an injury when shot in the bullet-resistant vest. The injured agent and the suspect, who was not struck by gunfire, were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Trump has been locked in a monthslong legal battle with the preservation organization over his plans to construct a $400 million donor-paid ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that the Trump administration needs congressional approval for the project and its financing mechanism, while the Justice Department argues the project is legally authorized and that, now that construction has begun, completing it is necessary for the security and the safety of the president.
A federal judge has sided with the preservation organization, ruling that Trump needs congressional approval for the plan to proceed. After the judge earlier this month permitted only below-ground construction for security purposes, the D.C. Circuit issued an administrative stay allowing the project to continue while the government’s appeal proceeds, with oral arguments scheduled for June 5.
Calls of support from the White House and Republicans have increased following Saturday’s incident, with Trump stating in a press conference that night, “We need the ballroom.”
In his letter on Sunday, Shumate said the ballroom would mean the president would no longer need to leave the White House to attend large gatherings.
He said the National Trust for Historic Preservation has until 9 a.m. Monday to dismiss the lawsuit or the Justice Department will move to dismiss the case “in light of last night’s extraordinary events” and state that the preservation organization opposes the motion.
UPI has asked the National Trust for Historic Preservation for comment.
April 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Sunday a suspect arrested in connection with a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., had written an anti-administration “manifesto.”
Other reports indicated the suspect, identified as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrence, Calif., had sent a communication to family members minutes before the late Saturday incident at the Washington Hilton Hotel
In the note, he reportedly said he was targeting members of the Trump administration in his attack.
Trump told Fox News Allen’s “manifesto” indicated he “is a sick guy.
“When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians. That’s one thing for sure. He hates Christians, a hatred. And I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. You know, they were even complaining to law enforcement. So he was, he was a very troubled guy.”
Security camera footage supplied by the White House showed a man charging through a security checkpoint outside the hotel ballroom where the correspondents’ dinner was being held.
“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service.” – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/N3UTveVNFM— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2026
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said one person was in custody in connection with the incident and it is believed he acted alone. Two firearms and multiple knives were recovered at the scene and a Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was injured and hospitalized with “non-life threatening injuries,” they added.
The White House told Fox Sunday Allen’s family members had notified the New London, Conn., police department on Saturday when they received the communication. Administration officials also claimed Cole Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told the Secret Service her brother had been making “radical” statements and was in possession of weapons.
Meanwhile, NBC News reported the communication shows Allen apologized to his parents, colleagues, students, bystanders and others for what he was about to do.
“I don’t expect forgiveness,” Allen reportedly wrote. “Again, my sincere apologies.”
He also reportedly criticized the president without specifically mentioning him and noted that security precautions at the hotel were not as stringent as he had expected them to be.
Administration officials “are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” he wrote, according to NBC News, adding, “I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”
The New York Times reported federal authorities in Los Angeles served a search warrant on Allen’s house in Torrance but refused to comment on Trump’s assertion that Allen had penned a “manifesto” before correspondents’ dinner attack.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said a preliminary investigation had determined the suspect “traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, D.C., where he checked into the hotel where the correspondent’s dinner was at in the last day or two.”
On NBC’s Meet the Press, Blanche said authorities believe that the two firearms the suspect carried during the attack had been purchased “within the past couple of years,” adding, “We believe that he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack. But that’s, again, quite preliminary as law enforcement continues to go through all the evidence.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters Allen is expected to be arraigned Monday. He is facing two preliminary charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Media analyses of Allen’s social media accounts portray him as self-described independent computer game developer, including a game called “Bohrdom” that was released in 2018. He reportedly earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology.
At a press briefing after returning to the White House following the incident, Trump said he believed that this was a “lone wolf” attack as he praised the response of Secret Service and law enforcement after recognizing the threat.
Trump said there was no indication of a motive, political or otherwise, but that “we’ll find out very quickly” about this “very sick person.”
Allen has been taken to the hospital, as has the Secret Service agent who was injured, The Washington Post reported.
Dinner was being served at the annual gathering of the Washington press organization when shots could be heard from the ballroom, causing many in the room to freeze.
President Trump, Melania Trump and other members of the administration on the dais and in the ballroom were evacuated within minutes of shots being heard over C-SPAN and other networks broadcasts.
As the officials were cleared from the room, Secret Service agents swarmed it and ordered other guests to stay in their seats.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he wanted to return to the dinner and for the “SHOW TO GO ON,” but security insisted that they leave the hotel and return to the White House.
Most of the other guests remained in the ballroom after organizers made an announcement that the show would continue shortly.
There was also speculation whether Trump would return to the dinner after the announcement the show would continue and the Presidential Seal was not immediately removed from the podium on the dais.
“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do immediately,” Trump posted about an hour after the incident.
“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” Trump posted. “I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days.”
An announcement in the ballroom mirrored Trump’s announcement about rescheduling the dinner for next month.
C-SPAN reported that waiters started to clear the salad portion of dinner as guests started to open wine while waiting for more information about the situation before the announcement that the dinner is going to be rescheduled.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington on April 25, 2026. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
April 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump returned to the White House after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C.
There was a shooting incident near the main security screening area at the Washington Hilton, with one person in custody as law enforcement assesses the situation, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said in a statement.
All protectees, Guglielmi said, are safe, including the president, first lady and members of the Cabinet who were at the dinner.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he wanted to return to the dinner and for the “SHOW TO GO ON,” but security insisted that they leave the hotel and return to the White House.
“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do immediately,” Trump posted about an hour after the incident.
“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” Trump posted. “I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days.”
An announcement in the ballroom mirrored Trump’s announcement about rescheduling the dinner for next month.
The FBI confirmed that the suspect is in custody in a statement.
The suspect has been taken to the hospital, as has a Secret Service agent who was injured, The Washington Post reported.
Trump also said he would give an update from the press briefing room at the White House later this evening.
Dinner was being served at the annual gathering of the Washington press organization when shots could be heard from the ballroom before Trump was evacuated by security, according to video of the event.
President Trump, Melania Trump and other members of the administration on the dais and in the ballroom were evacuated within minutes of shots being heard over C-SPAN and other networks broadcasts.
As the officials were cleared from the room, Secret Service agents swarmed it and ordered other guests to stay in their seats.
Most of the other guests remained in the ballroom after organizers made an announcement that the show would continue shortly.
There was also speculation whether Trump would return to the dinner after the announcement the show would continue and the Presidential Seal was not immediately removed from the podium on the dais.
C-SPAN reported that waiters started to clear the salad portion of dinner as guests started to open wine while waiting for more information about the situation before the announcement that the dinner is going to be rescheduled.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
