Published on 4/30/2026
Documents and evidence provided by US federal prosecutors revealed precise details about the gunman who attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner early last week, a party that included a shooting incident during the presence of President Donald Trump and senior officials in his government.
According to a report published by the American CNN network, the US Department of Justice submitted a judicial document justifying keeping the accused, called Cole Thomas Allen (31 years old), in detention pending his trial. The document revealed new details about the timeline of the attack, and an accurate inventory of the weapons that the attacker was in possession of.
Allen, who is from California, faces charges of attempting to assassinate the US President and other related charges, and the prosecution statement issued against him says that “the defendant’s choice of targets shows the extremely dangerous nature of his behavior.”
The list states that “attempted murder is always a serious crime, but when the target is the President of the United States and high-ranking officials, its potential consequences are far-reaching.”
A month of planning
According to the document, the accused began planning his operation a month before the execution date. Shortly after Trump announced his intention to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Allen searched for details of the event and booked a room at the Washington Hilton Hotel, which hosted the party, to ensure his presence at the heart of the event.
Four days before carrying out his attack, Allen embarked on a long road trip by train, passing through many cities and states, from Los Angeles to Chicago all the way to Washington, D.C. During the long trip, Allen spent part of his time reading a press report entitled “The Social Scene: Your Guide to the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend,” to understand the scenes of the ceremony and the protocol related to it, according to a CNN report.
According to judicial documents, the accused arrived at the Union Station train station in Washington on April 24, then took the subway to the Dupont Circle area, where he checked into the Washington Hilton Hotel – hosting the party – at approximately 3:15 p.m.
zero hour
On the day of the party, according to court documents, Allen left his room several times and conducted searches on his phone for Trump’s schedule of movements. At approximately 8:03 p.m. local time, Allen took a photo of himself in front of the mirror of his hotel room, showing him with weapons strapped to his body.
After checking the president’s agenda one last time, Allen left his room around 8:15 p.m. local time. About 12 minutes later, Allen was watching live video clips on news sites showing the president arriving at the hotel. The federal prosecution stated that the accused prepared a scheduled e-mail containing an explanation of his intentions, to arrive in the inboxes of his family members and friends at exactly 8:30 p.m.
As the arrival of the president’s convoy to the hotel was monitored via live broadcast, Allen headed towards the security checkpoint, took off the black coat he was wearing, revealing the hunting rifle he was in possession of, then ran quickly past the security barriers in an attempt to reach the hall where Trump was located.
During the attempted break-in, the accused fired his gun at the stairs leading to the concert hall, prompting a Secret Service officer to return fire at him. The confrontation ended with Allen falling to the ground and being arrested before he could reach his goal.
