Cole Tomas Allen Fired Shotgun At Secret Service Officer During White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting

Cole Tomas Allen, accused in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, was seen in surveillance footage entering a door about 35 feet away from where law enforcement officers were breaking down the magnetometers, one level above the ballroom where the dinner was taking place.

“WASHINGTON (KABC) -- New surveillance images obtained by the Washington Post show the moments Cole Allen, a Torrance teacher charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump, ran past security outside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner”

ABC7 Los Angeles

CNN’s video analysis says the door Allen entered led to an elevator bank, and that “The video shows a law enforcement K9 and its handler looking inside the door that Allen… entered.”

ABC7 Los Angeles

The footage then shows Allen coming back through the door and sprinting toward a group of several law enforcement officers at the security checkpoint while officers were “in the process of breaking down the magnetometers.”

CNN reports that one uniformed Secret Service officer appeared to notice Allen several seconds before the others, drew his pistol, and aimed it toward Allen.

Almost instantaneously, CNN says Allen ran through a remaining magnetometer and “leveled his shotgun at that Secret Service officer.”

CNN adds that the audio analysis “does indicate that six shots total were fired during the incident,” aligning with initial law enforcement statements that Allen fired one shot while a responding officer fired five more.

The incident unfolded with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, several Cabinet officials and thousands of attendees being served the first course of the dinner inside the ballroom.

As the case moved through court, CNN reported that a federal judge privately admonished prosecutors for attempting to “grandstand” at a detention hearing for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman.

CNN said Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya told three prosecutors on Thursday, “I don’t know what’s going on here. I know that you want to present your case, I guess, to some audience other than the Court,” and added, “I don’t want this to turn into a circus.”

CNN

The same CNN report described how Trump administration officials aggressively described their theory of the alleged attempted assassination of the president in “news interviews and unsolicited court filings,” and it said some television interviews went further than what FBI and Justice Department line prosecutors represented in court.

CNN also described the Justice Department’s position that the investigation remained “in its early stages,” and noted that the Justice Department “didn’t respond to specific questions related to the video evidence released Thursday.”

In the latest available court filing CNN quoted, “A USSS officer observed the defendant fire the shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom.”

CNN further reported that Allen faced an initial charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and that charges “could expand or be changed as a grand jury investigation progresses toward an indictment.”

Separately, WRAL said prosecutors filed new evidence Thursday, including video showing moments before the shooting, and that the judge said it would be a “waste of time” to present more evidence because Allen was not fighting the detention motion.

Prosecutors and government officials described the shooting as involving Allen firing first, while other accounts emphasized uncertainty about when Allen fired and how many shots came from which side.

“Judge Moxilla A Upadhyaya sits in the courtroom during a hearing for Cole Tomas Allen, on Thursday, April 30”

KTEN

CNN reported that Secret Service Director Sean M. Curran said Allen shot an officer at point-blank range, and it said Jeanine Pirro told Fox News that he fired at the Secret Service officer.

CNN also said its video and audio analysis “does not definitively conclude when or if Allen fired a shot,” but that “the audio analysis does indicate that six shots total were fired during the incident,” matching initial statements that Allen fired one shot and a responding officer fired five more.

The Guardian described Pirro releasing edited security camera footage and said Pirro claimed the video showed Allen casing the hotel the night before and then “shooting a Secret Service agent as he rushed through a metal detector.”

The Guardian added that the video “includes no audio,” and that while it shows “four muzzle flashes from an agent’s gun,” it was “not immediately clear whether it showed Allen discharging his weapon after he pointed it at the agent.”

The Guardian also quoted Curran saying, “It appears that the suspect hit his knee, while being engaged by the officer, on one of our magnetometer boxes, and began to fall to the ground,” and it said Curran confirmed Allen was not hit by “the five shots fired at him by a Secret Service agent.”

RFI reported that Todd Blanche said, “Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they train for; it wasn't an accident,” and asserted, “We now know that all this was planned.”

Beyond the video analysis, prosecutors and media outlets circulated additional images and details about Cole Tomas Allen’s movements and alleged preparations.

WRAL said prosecutors filed new evidence Thursday including video showing “the moments before the shooting,” and described the video sequence in which an officer and his dog approached the door for approximately 12 seconds before Allen rushed back out with a shotgun toward the security checkpoint.

Snopes

WRAL reported that prosecutors say the video shows Allen and a Secret Service officer exchange fire, and it quoted Jeanine Pirro saying, “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire,” in posting the video online.

WRAL also said Pirro’s prosecutors filed the video along with other images allegedly of Allen, his hotel room, a used shotgun casing, and other weapons and gear including “a pistol, knives and tape.”

Snopes addressed a separate claim that circulated online: a photo described as a selfie that users claimed Allen took shortly before the shooting, and it said it rated the claim “true” based on a DOJ filing.

Snopes reported that the DOJ filing stated Allen took the photo around 8:03 p.m., “less than 40 minutes before he allegedly tried to kill Trump,” and it reported that Allen faced up to life in prison if found guilty of attempting to assassinate the president.

ABC7 Los Angeles, citing surveillance images obtained by the Washington Post, said the new pictures allegedly show Allen carrying a shotgun as he rushed through the metal detectors, and it reported that the Department of Justice said agents observed Allen “fire the shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom.”

The sources describe a fast-moving legal process in Washington, D.C., with Allen facing formal charges and detention while prosecutors pursue additional evidence.

“After a gunman attempted to enter the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D”

Snopes

RFI said Cole Allen, described as a 31-year-old man, was formally charged with “attempted assassination” of Donald Trump and “illegal use of firearms” on Monday, April 27, and that he “faces a life sentence.”

The Guardian

RFI also reported that Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, said, “Citizens have the right to vote to express themselves, but our Constitution does not tolerate violence and even less violence directed at the President of the United States,” and it quoted Jeanine Pirro presenting an “arsenal” including “a pump-action shotgun, a pistol and several knives.”

The Guardian said Allen was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the US president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence, and it reported that Allen “has yet to enter a plea in the case.”

The Guardian also said earlier Thursday Allen agreed to remain in federal custody while his case moved forward.

Snopes reported that a district judge in Washington, D.C., ordered Allen be held without bond until a detention hearing April 30, and it said the DOJ argued the severity of his alleged crime required detention until trial.

CNN reported that Allen faced an initial charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and that charges “could expand or be changed as a grand jury investigation progresses toward an indictment.”