by Kevin Killough
The California man accused of attempting to carry out a shooting this past weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was charged Monday in a federal court in Washington, D.C., with attempting to assassinate President Trump.
The defendant, Cole Allen, of Torrance, California, was also charged with transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, according to The Washington Post.
The 31-year-old Allen traveled late last week by train from his home in Southern California to the nation’s capital, where he checked into a room at the Washington Hilton – prior to when the gala was being held there – along with the long-barreled gun he toted through a checkpoint before being apprehended by law enforcement outside the gala ballroom.
Allen on Monday did not enter a plea. He reportedly wrote a manifesto before the attack that suggested he intended to kill Trump and top officials in his administration – who attended the event along with hundreds of journalists, their guests and others.
According to The New York Post, Allen, without referencing Trump by name, said, ““I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
In addition, Allen said, “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” The Post said.
Allen also noted the lack of security at the event.
“Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance. I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat,” he said, according to the outlet.
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Kevin Killough is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
