On the afternoon of April 27, Eastern Time (early this morning, April 28, Beijing Time), Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting, made his first court appearance at a federal court in Washington, D.C., where he was informed that he faces three felony charges: attempted assassination of the President of the United States, transporting firearms and ammunition across state lines with the intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
If convicted of the first charge of attempted assassination of the president, Allen could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
At a subsequent joint press conference, United States Attorney Pirro of the District of Columbia stated that additional charges would be filed against Allen as the investigation progresses. Pirro said, "Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was."
Allen did not enter a plea in court, but merely answered a series of routine questions posed by the judge. Prosecutors stated in court that Allen attempted to assassinate US President Trump using a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, adding that he was also carrying a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol, three knives, and "other dangerous paraphernalia."
Prosecutors stated that they will seek to keep Allen in custody pending trial. The public defender indicated that the defense may seek to overturn the detention order. The defense pointed out that Allen has no prior criminal record and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The judge ordered Allen to be held in custody pending the proceedings. A detention hearing for him is scheduled for the morning of April 30 local time, while a preliminary hearing is set for the afternoon of May 11.
Following the shooting on the evening of April 25, the suspect, Allen, was subdued by law enforcement officers at the scene. When law enforcement officials briefed the media on the case, they stated that Allen refused to answer questions after his arrest, but vaguely mentioned that he was targeting officials in the Trump administration, without explicitly stating that Trump was his target.
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