WHCD shooting suspect pleads ‘not guilty’ to attempted assassination of Trump
Cole Allen, the alleged shooter at the White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD), has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the one related to the attempted assassination of the U.S. President Donald Trump.
During his court hearing on Monday, the 31-year-old suspect did not talk to the court as his attorney Tezira Abe entered the plea on his behalf. During the previous hearing, a different judge apologised to Allen over jail conditions.
Prosecutors accused Allen of firing a shotgun at the U.S. Secret Service agent, storming a checkpoint with the intention to harm President Trump and his administration officials.
The charges brought against the suspect include:
- Attempted assassination of the president
- Assault on a federal officer
- Firearm offences
In addition to the ongoing case, Allen is trying to get the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro recused or disqualified from the case because they were present at the dinner, which might affect their judgement regarding the case.
His lawyer Eugene Ohm said, “It is wholly inappropriate for victims of an alleged event like this to be individually prosecuting the case.”
According to reports, Allen travelled to Washington via train carrying various weapons and booked a room in the Washington Hilton where the dinner was happening.
The videos from the incident shows the suspect running through the security checkpoint while simultaneously firing at a secret service agent. He was later subdued and arrested by officials. The dinner was cancelled, which President Trump announced will be rescheduled shortly.
This was the first time that Trump accepted the invitation from White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) to participate in the dinner during both of his terms.
