WASHINGTON — A federal decide on Thursday set a September 2027 trial date for a person charged with making an attempt to kill President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner earlier this yr.
Cole Tomas Allen’s trial is scheduled to begin with jury choice on Sept. 7 in Washington, D.C., and is anticipated to final roughly three to 4 weeks. Prosecutors had really helpful beginning the trial in Might 2027, however U.S. District Decide Trevor McFadden set the later date after considered one of Allen’s attorneys requested for extra time to organize.
Allen, of Torrance, California, is accused of storming the WHCA dinner whereas armed with weapons and knives and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to cease the April 25, 2026, assault on the Washington Hilton lodge. The officer, who was struck as soon as in a bullet-resistant vest, fired 5 pictures however didn’t hit anyone, authorities stated. Allen was injured however not from gunfire.
The assault led to an early finish to one of many highest-profile annual occasions within the nation’s capital. President Donald Trump returned to talk on the rescheduled dinner three months later.
In writings that he despatched to family earlier than the assault, Allen railed towards Trump administration insurance policies and referred to himself as a “Pleasant Federal Murderer,” authorities stated.
Allen faces an tried assassination cost that carries a most doable sentence of life in jail. He is also charged with assaulting a federal officer with a lethal weapon and two extra firearms counts.
