Gunman Who Charged at Washington Press Gala Faces Arraignment
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Two law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, Calif. Authorities said the suspect appeared to express anger at administration officials and President Trump, who was rushed from the dinner unharmed.
The suspect detained in connection with gunfire at the hotel where President Trump was attending the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington over the weekend was expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said that the suspect would face two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. Additional charges are expected, she said. Justice Department officials have scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference to discuss the case.
Two law enforcement officials familiar with an investigation into the shooting identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif. They asked to remain anonymous because they had not been authorized to disclose the information. Federal authorities in Los Angeles said that a search warrant was served late Saturday night at Mr. Allen’s home.
The suspect was taken into custody on Saturday night after running through a security checkpoint inside the Washington Hilton, setting off a flurry of gunfire. Mr. Trump and members of his cabinet, who were attending the dinner in the hotel’s ballroom with hundreds of journalists, were rushed out of the room and were unharmed.
A note that the authorities say was written by the suspect appears to express deep anger at the administration and the president. Administration figures were the suspect’s “targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” according to a copy of the roughly 1,000-word document shared by two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to disclose the information.
The suspect expressed surprise at having been able to check into the hotel a day before the event with a shotgun, a handgun and a knife, according to the document.
Officials insisted that the security measures at the dinner worked as intended, noting that the suspect never made it into the ballroom. Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, will hold a meeting this week with the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security and other officials to review security practices, including for major events in the coming months, according to a White House official.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
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Suspect: Mr. Allen worked as a tutor and graduated from the California Institute of Technology. Those who know him are struggling to reconcile the man they knew with the political violence that he is accused of.
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Shooting scene: Investigators have said the suspect took a train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Washington, before checking into the Washington Hilton, where the shooting occurred. President Reagan was shot outside the same hotel in 1981.
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Trump’s reaction: Mr. Trump told “60 Minutes” in an interview aired on Sunday night that he told agents to “wait a minute” as they urged him to get down, saying he was curious to see what was happening. He said he finally dropped to the floor with the first lady. “My thought was, ‘I’ve been through this a couple of times before,’” but his wife had not, he said.
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Rumors and speculation: Influencers jumped to fill the information void with conspiracy theories about the attack.