Alleged correspondents' dinner shooter to stay in custody
The man accused of an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and the Correspondents’ Dinner will stay in custody following a court hearing on Thursday.
Public defenders for Cole Tomas Allen, 31, argued for his release but said Thursday that they were “conceding detention at this time.” He was charged with attempted assassination, discharging a firearm with intent to commit a felony and transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce on Monday. An attempted assassination conviction carries a possible life sentence.
Allen, of Torrance, Calif., allegedly fired shots outside of the Washington Hilton Ballroom during the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday. He was arrested after a Secret Service officer fired at him. He was not hit but had minor injuries.
On Wednesday, his attorneys filed an argument for Allen’s release,
arguing that he has no past criminal history and was “gainfully employed as a tutor” in California. They said his family would ensure he didn’t violate his release conditions.
“As previously stated, Mr. Allen’s history and characteristics counsel in favor of release in this case,” the public defenders wrote. They said he is a “loved and respected teacher and colleague who has always demonstrated kindness, empathy and compassion and never violence.”
Jocelyn Ballantine, assistant U.S. attorney, argued that Allen should remain in jail. She alleged that he traveled to Washington with guns, knives and “other dangerous paraphernalia.”
In the pretrial memo, she wrote that Allen’s “actions were premeditated, violent, and calculated to cause death. Considering the relevant statutory factors, there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of other people or the community if the defendant were released from custody.”
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