Investigators have confirmed that a buckshot pellet found in a Secret Service agent's vest originated from the weapon used by Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner attack. According to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, this evidence definitively links Allen to the shooting that occurred during the dinner on April 25.
Key Takeaways
Investigators confirmed a pellet from Cole Allen's shotgun struck a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, linking him to the attack. More charges are expected against Allen as prosecutors call his actions premeditated. Meanwhile, court documents show Allen has been removed from suicide watch.
Allen, a 31-year-old computer scientist from Torrance, California, allegedly ran through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was held and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent. He has been charged with attempted assassination of President Trump, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and illegally transporting guns and ammunition across state lines.
Pirro emphasized that Allen's actions were premeditated and targeted towards killing the president. She cited evidence showing Allen tracked the president's movements on his phone and had detailed knowledge of the dinner schedule. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated that more charges are expected against Allen in the coming week.
Allen has been removed from suicide watch at the Washington, D.C., jail where he is being held, according to court documents filed by his defense team. The hearing scheduled to discuss this removal was canceled after it was confirmed that Allen had already been taken off suicide watch. His attorneys argued that the restrictions violated his due process rights and hindered his ability to prepare for his defense.
An initial investigation into the violence at last week's Washington D.C. event failed to confirm who had fired the shot that was stopped by the agent's bulletproof vest, leading to speculation about friendly fire as a heavily armed Allen tried to barge into a hotel ballroom during an alleged assassination attempt against President Donald Trump and Cabinet members.
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