Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1219 EAT on Tuesday 28 April 2026

A California man has been charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump after allegedly trying to force his way into a high-profile gala event armed with multiple weapons on Saturday night.

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, also faces two firearms-related charges following his court appearance in Washington, D.C., on Monday. He did not enter a plea.

According to prosecutors, Allen was carrying a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun, and three knives when he allegedly breached a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The incident triggered a White House security review after a Secret Service agent was shot and wounded during the confrontation at a hotel hosting the event. Authorities said the officer’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Dressed in a blue jumpsuit with a nametag, the suspect appeared composed during his court appearance on Monday in the U.S. capital.

He spoke softly throughout the hearing, responding to nearly all of the judge’s questions with either “yes, your honour” or “no, your honour.”

The suspect allegedly breached a security checkpoint on a floor above the basement venue, prosecutors said.

“One Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a news conference on Monday.

“This heroic officer who was hit fired five times at Allen, who was not shot but fell to the ground and was promptly arrested,” he added.

Todd Blanche said the suspect is believed to have discharged a shotgun at least once during the incident.

Authorities said it remains unclear whether the Secret Service agent was struck by the suspect’s fire or caught in crossfire from responding law enforcement. The injured agent has since been discharged from hospital.

Attempting to assassinate the President carries a potential life sentence under U.S. federal law.

The additional charges — transportation of a firearm across state lines to commit a felony and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence — each carry maximum sentences of 10 years in prison.

The suspect is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday. Prosecutors also told the court that the accused crossed multiple state lines in an alleged effort to carry out the attack on Donald Trump.

Questions are mounting over whether the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton was sufficiently strong, why guests were not required to present identification, and why senior figures in the presidential line of succession were assembled at a single venue.

However, at a press briefing on Monday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the handling of security, saying “law enforcement did not fail” in its protection of the event.

He said the suspect was stopped one floor above the venue, stressing that “hundreds of federal agents” stood between the attacker and the President.

The Washington Hilton — which was the site of John Hinckley Jr’s 1981 assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan — said it had complied fully with all security instructions issued by the Secret Service.

-BBC

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