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.
Blanche says political violence has to stop as he criticizes media after shooting
In the wake of what prosecutors say was an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the “political violence and rhetoric has got to stop,” going on to criticize the media.
When reporters are “being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence, without proof, it shouldn’t surprise us that this type of rhetoric takes place,” Blanche said at a news conference following the suspected shooter’s first court appearance this afternoon.
Acting attorney general details investigative steps since shooting
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday outlined the steps investigators have taken since the shooting this weekend, saying the probe is ongoing.
Prosecutors in Washington, DC, worked overnight Saturday and through Sunday as law enforcement interviewed “multiple” witnesses, he said at a news conference.
Blanche said law enforcement also conducted court-approved searches in California, Allen’s home state, and in Washington, DC.
FBI Director Kash Patel later said shell casings were sent to the FBI facility in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.
“We collected the shell casings on scene, including the firearms and the weapons that the judge talked about,” Patel said. “Those were also sent to our Quantico laboratories for immediate analysis.”
Suspect received "minor" injuries, DOJ officials say
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the US Secret Service on Monday, saying that “law enforcement did not fail” when a man rushed through security with firearms outside the ballroom where President Donald Trump and top officials were.
Blanche said during a news conference that “Secret Service agents promptly tackled and detained the suspect.”
The affidavit against the man, Cole Tomas Allen, says that he “fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries” when one officer began firing at him.
“Both can be true,” Blanche said of the conflicting statements.
Blanche told reporters to “rely on the complaint, because that was sworn to by an agent and not by the words out of the acting attorney general.”
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Allen was not injured aside from “some kind of scrape on his knee.”
“This man was a floor above the ballroom with hundreds of federal agents, between him and the president of the United States,” Blanche said, noting the security on Saturday night.
Of Allen, Blanche said, “he ran through the magnetometer, holding a long gun, as he did so, US Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot.”
“One Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked,” Blanche added. “This heroic officer who was hit fired five times at Allen, who was not shot but fell to the ground, and was promptly arrested.”
This post has been updated with additional information.
US attorney for Washington, DC, says suspected gunman will face additional charges
The US attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, said the suspected gunman in Saturday’s shooting will face additional charges, after Cole Tomas Allen made his initial court appearance earlier Monday.
Prosecutors earlier announced three charges against Allen, including attempting to assassinate the president.
“There will be additional charges as this investigation continues to unfold,” Pirro said during a news conference.
Alleged WHCD gunman invoked right to remain silent after arrest, court filings say
Cole Tomas Allen, the California man accused of attempting the assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, invoked his right to remain silent after his arrest, according to charging documents released today.
The criminal complaint charging Allen with attempted assassination of the president, transportation of a firearm with the intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence gave new details to the timeline ahead of the alleged crimes with an affidavit from an FBI agent.
On April 6, weeks after Trump’s announcement he would attend the press dinner, Allen made a three-night reservation at the Washington Hilton. He departed California by train April 21, the filings say. He transferred trains on Thursday in Chicago and checked into the Hilton the following day, according to investigators.
The court filings include the message he allegedly sent family members calling “Administration officials” his targets, and the new filings say he used a “schedule send” function for transmitting the message. It was received by family members shortly before Allen allegedly approached a security checkpoint at about 8:40 p.m. ET, the filings say.
Prosecutors accuse Allen of running “through the magnetometer holding a long gun.”
Allen had a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38-caliber pistol on his person, according to the filings.
READ: Charging documents accuse alleged gunman of attempting to assassinate the president
The Justice Department’s charging documents alleging that Cole Tomas Allen attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump were made public Monday.
In the documents, investigators say Allen approached and ran through the magnetometer at the Washington Hilton holding a long gun.
“As he did so, U.S. Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot,” the documents say. “U.S. Secret Service Officer V.G. was shot once in the chest; Officer V.G. was wearing a ballistic vest at the time.”
Prosecutors previously announced in court that Allen faced charges of attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm with the intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Read the documents here:
Rescheduling dinner may not be possible in 30-day timeframe, former association head says
President Donald Trump said he wants the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to be rescheduled within 30 days, but a former president of the association said it might not be operationally possible.
Jeff Mason, who served as the association’s president in the first year of the Trump administration, told CNN the ballroom is usually booked a year in advance and other aspects like invitations, food and transportation to the venue are also planned early.
Organizers would now have to decide whether or not to scale down the event, Mason said, or to move it to another location.
“Would you do the same number of people and would you have time to address all the security issues that have now been raised as a result of what happened?” Mason said.
“I mean, there are certainly ways to do it,” he said. “But, logistically, I just don’t know if that’s possible in that period of time,” Mason added.
Trump and other administration officials have argued the shooting underscores the need for a ballroom at the White House. But the former association president said the organization may not be able to hold the event there.
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.
