Here's what we covered today
• Suspect charged: Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, made his first court appearance Monday and was charged with attempting to assassinate the president. A CNN review of his social media shows a shift from video games to political rage.
• Reaction to rhetoric: At the daily press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to shift blame for a rise in political violence to Democrats, while omitting incendiary rhetoric coming from Republicans and from President Donald Trump. Her remarks drew a sharp rebuke from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
• Security under scrutiny: Separately, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said he “saw no indication” of a security lapse at the event after he and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley were briefed by Secret Service Director Sean Curran.
Cole Allen charged with attempting to assassinate the president. Here's the latest
The man authorities say launched an attack Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was charged today with multiple counts at his initial court appearance, including attempting to assassinate the president.
Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old who worked as a teacher in southern California, said little during his appearance.
Prosecutors asked to detain him before trial and a detention hearing was set for April 30.
Here are some of the latest developments in the aftermath of this weekend’s shooting:
- Allen, who appeared in bright blue prison scrubs before a federal magistrate judge, was also charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime and transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce.
- The White House urged Democrats to fund DHS, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the lapse in funding a “national scandal” in the wake of the shooting.
- Leavitt also said the White House won’t rule out operational changes to events attended by Trump – including possibly ensuring the president and Vice President JD Vance do not attend events simultaneously.
- The press secretary sought to shift blame for a rise in political violence to Democrats, pointing to a long list of remarks from Democratic elected officials — while omitting incendiary rhetoric coming from Republicans and the president himself.
- President Donald Trump echoed the first lady’s criticism of a sketch by late night host Jimmy Kimmel, which was filmed days before the shooting. The president called on ABC to fire Kimmel, who joked in a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner segment that Melania Trump “had a glow like an expectant widow.”
- Trump is continuing to use the shooting to push for support for his contentious White House ballroom project.
Eyewitness tells CNN gunman "dropped right at my feet" before apprehension
An eyewitness to Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner told CNN she suspects the alleged gunman may have tripped before being apprehended by law enforcement.
Erin Thielman told CNN she was walking from the ballroom up a flight of stairs when she heard gunshots. She said the alleged gunman “dropped right at my feet.”
“He just fell,” she told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown on “The Situation Room.”
She said she believes the gunman was not tackled by law enforcement.
Thielman, who is an Air Force veteran, said she then ran back down the stairs, where she was “shocked” to see that the doors leading to the ballroom where the dinner was being held were still open.
“So, I started shutting them, and somebody else helped me close the other doors. And then I was a little dazed when I got into the ballroom and saw that everybody was already under tables, and Secret Service was swarming,” she said.
Someone grabbed Thielman and threw her under a table, she said. She had initially left the ballroom to get better cellphone reception and check in on her family. Once she was under the table she realized her 15-year-old son was on the phone with her the entire time.
llinois governor and NYC mayor condemn political violence after press dinner shooting
Saturday’s shooting was a “sad reminder” of the uptick in violence against lawmakers in recent years and leaders should “push back on this idea that political violence is acceptable,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN.
“It is not acceptable,” the Democratic governor said.
“We agree, in this country, to disagree and to take out our views in the ballot box and not at the point of a gun,” Pritzker added.
Separately, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed Saturday’s shooting during a FIFA World Cup news conference.
“Political violence is unacceptable, and it should have no place in our country. And I am relieved that President Trump and everyone who attended the dinner is safe,” Mamdani sad.
Lawyers for suspect were handed photos of guns he allegedly brought to dinner
Attorneys for the press gala shooting suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, were handed several pictures of the guns that prosecutors say he brought to DC.
“On the 25th of April, he attempted to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” national security prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said in court.
Prosecutors have asked that Allen be held in detention because he faces life in prison if convicted on a charge of attempting to assassinate the president. A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Thursday.
There were at least 10 US marshals in the courtroom Monday.
Allen’s defense team said he has no prior arrests or convictions.
Man accused of attempting to kill Trump said few words and showed little emotion in court
The man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump over the weekend appeared in court Monday afternoon for a brief hearing that saw him say few words and show little emotion.
Cole Tomas Allen, who appeared in bright blue prison scrubs before a federal magistrate judge, stayed mostly still during the proceeding, listening to the judge and answering his questions loudly and clearly.
Allen, a tall man, did not speak beyond the short “yes” and “no” answers to the judge’s questions about his background and his rights as a criminal defendant.
At one point, he looked directly at US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who did not speak during the hearing.
Allen told Judge Matthew Sharbaugh that he has a master’s degree in computer science, has not recently consumed drugs or alcohol, and that he wanted the court to appoint him defense attorneys to represent him in the case.
“Mr. Allen traveled across state lines … armed with a firearm, arrived in Washington, DC,” prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine told the judge in arguing that he should remain detained while the case proceeds. She said that once in the city, Allen “attempted to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”
Prosecutors ask that suspected gunman be detained before trial
Prosecutors want to detain the California man suspected of arming himself with guns and charging through security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC.
Appearing before a federal magistrate judge in DC, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate the president and other charges. Allen, responding to questions, told the judge he has a master’s degree in computer science. He was represented by court-appointed lawyers.
A detention hearing was set for April 30.
Accused gunman charged with attempting to assassinate the president
The accused gunman is charged with attempting to assassinate the president.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, appeared in DC federal court on Monday in blue scrubs. He was also charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime and transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce.
Prosecutors are asking for pretrial detention.
Court hearing for alleged Correspondents' Dinner gunman is underway
The initial hearing has begun for the man who is accused of trying to attack top administration officials during Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The 31-year-old man, Cole Tomas Allen, is accused of running through Secret Service security, armed with a shotgun, pistol and knives, during Saturday’s dinner. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other key Cabinet members were in the dinner on a different floor of the Washington Hilton.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said over the weekend Allen would face two charges, including assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon. One federal officer was hit in a protective vest during the exchange of gunfire Saturday night and has been released from the hospital.
According to officials, Allen traveled by train to DC from California where he worked as a part-time tutor.
In a document investigators say Allen sent to his family members on Saturday, he voiced anger at the administration, ridiculed the Secret Service for lax security at the hotel, and said he did not “expect forgiveness.”
White House calls on Democrats to fund DHS after shooting
The White House urged Democrats in Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“The Democrats’ obstruction is placing an enormous and totally pointless burden on the Secret Service that can get more people killed. Enough is enough. There should be no further debate about this,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday in the White House briefing room.
“Democrats need to do what President Trump has been calling on them to do for 73 days in a row and fund the Department of Homeland Security, period. This is a national emergency and every member of Congress needs to put their country over party and get the Department of Homeland Security funded,” Leavitt added.
She called the lapsed funding a “national scandal” that deserves more attention.
“If Republicans defunded DHS, and we saw an another attempted assassination on a Democrat president, I would hope that the media coverage would be relentless and unforgiving, and I hope that it continues to be now with the World Cup, America 250, the 2028 Olympics and a presidential election all ahead,” she said.
At the same time, there are disagreements among Republicans over how to fund the department, and it’s unclear if House Speaker Mike Johnson will have the votes to do so without Democrats’ help.
Read more from CNN’s Capitol Hill team on the standoff here.
Leavitt delays maternity leave following shooting
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt returned to the White House briefing room podium Monday, postponing her anticipated maternity leave to deliver an update to reporters on the weekend’s shooting.
“As I told many of you on Friday afternoon, I thought that would be my last time taking your questions until after my maternity leave,” Leavitt said.
“But after the attempted assassination of the president and quote ‘top Trump administration officials,’ as the depraved shooter noted in his manifesto, at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday evening, I felt it was prudent to be here today, to answer your questions and inform the American people about how the administration is responding to yet another attempt on President Trump’s life,” she added.
It’s the second time Leavitt has seen her maternity leave upended. In a 2024 interview with right-wing outlet “The Conservateur,” Leavitt discussed returning to work just four days after giving birth to her first child because of the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt.
“I felt compelled to be present in this historic moment,” she told the outlet. “The president literally put his life on the line to win this election. The least I could do is get back to work quickly.”
On Monday, Leavitt said: “I hope and pray that this is the last time I speak to you for some time until after my maternity leave.”
White House blames Democrats for inciting political violence
The White House sought to shift blame for a rise in political violence to Democrats, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointing to a long list of remarks from Democratic elected officials — while omitting incendiary rhetoric coming from Republicans and the president himself.
President Donald Trump, who has frequently used inflammatory rhetoric against his political opponents, initially called for unity after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday evening. But in an interview with CBS News on Sunday, he warned that Democrats’ “hate speech” is “very dangerous.”
Leavitt on Monday read a selection of comments from Democratic leaders including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Sen. Alex Padilla of California, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Adam Schiff of California, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey.
“These are Democrat elected officials calling for war against the president of the United States and his supporters,” Leavitt said.
She continued: “When you have people in positions of power that are saying things like this every single day for years, you are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill, and that’s what we’ve seen against this president for far too long.”
Political violence has targeted lawmakers and their loved ones on both sides of the aisle in recent years — from the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university to the murder of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband to an arson at Shapiro’s home to an attack on Paul Pelosi.
Picking one designated survivor was not necessary for Saturday’s dinner, White House says
Selecting one designated survivor was not necessary for the night of the White House Correspondents’ dinner because several Cabinet members did not attend, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
There were conversations before the dinner about designating a specific survivor, Leavitt said, “but there were several members of the Cabinet in the line of succession who did not attend for various personal reasons.”
She added: “So, designating one survivor was not necessary, as we had several members who were not there already.”
White House won't rule out operational changes to Trump events
The White House declined to rule out operational changes to Donald Trump’s schedule following Saturday’s shooting at a gala in Washington, including the prospect of ensuring the president and Vice President JD Vance not attend events simultaneously.
“I definitely wouldn’t say changes are out of the question,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked whether there would be changes in protocol for events outside the White House.
She said that Trump was satisfied with the security response Saturday evening at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but that reassessing protocols was still a prudent step.
She said if the dinner is rescheduled, as Trump has requested, there would be a conversation over whether Vance would attend.
“I can assure you the president intends to attend the event, as he has told all of you publicly. I don’t want to rule in or out the vice president’s attendance, but certainly that’s a conversation that will take place,” she said.
House Speaker Johnson urges review of security measures after press gala
Security measures around large-scale events must be reevaluated following Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, House Speaker Mike Johnson said, aruging the shooting underscored the need for a White House ballroom.
“Secret Service did a great job; valiant people there. But obviously we do need to look at security measures,” Johnson told reporters Monday as he arrived at the US Capitol.
He also underscored the stakes of the event: “You had the president, the vice president, speaker of the House, that’s the first three in line (of succession) … half the Cabinet, at least, was there.”
Saturday night’s episode demonstrated why President Donald Trump should be able to construct a White House ballroom, Johnson said, echoing arguments made by the administration.
“This is why we need the ballroom. It really is. The president’s right about that. We need a facility that is secure enough to host events like this without having major national security concerns,” the Louisiana Republican said.
DHS funding: Following the shooting, calls are growing on Capitol Hill for Congress to finally pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down since mid-February.
The Senate earlier this month sent the House a measure that would fund the department — excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol — but House Republican leaders have not put it on the floor for a vote.
The speaker was noncommittal when pressed by CNN’s Lauren Fox on when exactly he’ll bring DHS funding to the floor. But he said the matter was “urgent.”
First lady implies Jimmy Kimmel should lose his job over joke before Correspondents' Dinner
First lady Melania Trump implied late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel should lose his job over a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner sketch on his show last week.
As part of the skit, Kimmel delivered a series of jokes, including one saying the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
Kimmel made the joke Thursday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” days before the alleged gunman attempted to enter the event where President Donald Trump, Melania Trump and other top officials were evacuated.
The first lady called Kimmel “a coward” and wrote: “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand.”
Here are some of the latest developments in the aftermath of this weekend’s shooting:
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was “quickly assessed” that “the continuity of government” was in place following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
- Investigators are examining a note sent by the suspected gunman to family members, in which he allegedly called himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin,” and said he intended to target Trump administration officials.
- Lawyers for the historic preservation group suing Trump over his plans to build a massive new White House ballroom told the Justice Department yesterday it was “incorrect and irresponsible” for a top official to suggest the litigation puts the president’s life at risk.
- King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the US will go ahead as planned. The British monarch is expected to address Congress and meet privately with Trump.
Justice Department to hold press briefing after suspect's court appearance
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro plan to hold a press conference after the alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner appears in court.
The event is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
The alleged gunman, identified as Cole Allen, will make his first appearance in DC federal court this afternoon.
He is expected to be arraigned on charges that include using a firearm in a violent crime. The charges have not yet been released and the investigation is active.
Investigators reviewing a note alleged to have been sent by the suspect
Authorities are going through a message sent by the suspected gunman involved in Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack, seeking to understand what allegedly led him from his life as a respected California teacher to a would-be assassin.
“Let me start off by apologizing to everyone whose trust I abused,” reads a note that authorities say was sent by the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, who worked part-time as a teacher and also developed video games, according to public records.
In the note Allen allegedly sent to family members before the attack, he called himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin,” said he intended to target Trump administration officials and vented political anger, adding, “I don’t expect forgiveness.”
Investigators are reviewing the statement Allen allegedly sent and his social media history — which President Donald Trump has described as “anti-Christian” — speaking to family members and seeking to learn more about what drove him to allegedly carry out the violent attack.
The note laid out several grievances in broad terms that could point authorities toward a motive, including anger toward conditions in detention camps and appearing to refer to Trump as a “traitor.”
Allen had a tendency to make radical statements as he became involved in left-wing activism in Los Angeles, acquired firearms and began regularly practicing at a firing range, his sister told law enforcement, according to the White House.
Preservationists reject DOJ claim that suit over Trump's ballroom puts his safety at risk
Lawyers for the historic preservation group suing President Donald Trump over his plans to build a massive new White House ballroom told the Justice Department yesterday that it was “incorrect and irresponsible” for a top official to suggest the litigation puts the president’s life at risk.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has rebuffed a request from the department to drop the case in light of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, told the department in a letter that claims made earlier Sunday about the potential impact of the litigation were meritless.
The group emphasized that the case wasn’t focused on whether there should be a new ballroom but rather whether Trump could proceed without congressional approval. A federal judge agreed with the group last month and ordered construction to stop, but an appeals court has paused that decision.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate had demanded the trust drop its “folly of a lawsuit that literally serves no purpose,” arguing that the ballroom would ensure presidents don’t need to travel outside the White House to attend large gatherings like the one at the Washington Hilton on Saturday.
Observers, however, have pointed out that the correspondents’ dinner is a private event and that a new ballroom would not change that reality.
Shumate said that if the group didn’t agree to end the litigation, the department would ask a federal court to dismiss the case, though that ask has not yet happened.
Los Angeles County prosecutor describes suspect's family as "good people"
Los Angeles County prosecutor Paul Thompson, who told the Los Angeles Times he lives next door to the family of Cole Tomas Allen, described the suspect’s parents as “good people” in an email to CNN.
Thompson specified he was “answering as a private citizen and not as a representative of my work.” He is currently running for election to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and has been endorsed by the county’s Democratic Party.
The prosecutor said he met Allen’s parents when they moved in to their home about 3-4 years ago but had “basically no interactions” with Allen, who has been identified by sources as the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“He didn’t make eye contact much when I saw him, and I probably said ‘hi’ to him once or twice,” he wrote. “I only saw him in passing and didn’t notice a change in his behavior.”
He described the family as “quiet.”
“I didn’t ever observe anything that stands out,” he said.
Rubio says it was "quickly assessed" that "the continuity of government" was in place
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was “quickly assessed” that “the continuity of government” was in place following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
The top US diplomat, who attended the dinner, said Monday that administration officials “went backstage to the command center, where the president sat in the back” after they were rushed out the ballroom.
“Sort of the first assessment that needed to be made was to be clear that all the continuity of government things were in place, and that was quickly assessed to be the case,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
The incident has raised questions about why so many members in the presidential line of succession, including Vice President JD Vance, were in attendance at the same event.
Rubio said he did not hear shots fired.
Rubio said he saw officials “follow all of the security protocols.”
“It was sort of an unfortunate situation that happened there, where one individual can disrupt what is one of the bigger nights in Washington, especially when the president attends,” he said. “That’s kind of the world we live in right now.”
