Federal prosecutors on Friday, November 13 unsealed a new terrorism charge against Cole Tomas Allen, the California man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald J. Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in April — a major new development in a case Awaaz Punjab previously reported when the court set Allen's trial for September 2027.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia
Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was charged in a five-count superseding indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced. The superseding indictment adds one count of act of terrorism while armed, for the attempted first-degree murder of the President of the United States, in violation of the D.C. criminal code. The maximum penalty Allen now faces is life imprisonment, the Justice Department said.
The four charges that were already there
Allen was previously charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump; assaulting an officer or employee of the United States with a deadly weapon; transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony; and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Those four federal counts remain, and the D.C. terrorism count is added on top of them. An indictment is an allegation, and Allen is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
UPI reported that, in the indictment, U.S. Attorney Pirro said the terrorism charge was added because Allen allegedly attempted to kill President Trump "with the intent to influence the policy and conduct of a unit of government … by intimidation and coercion and with the intent to intimidate and coerce a significant portion of the civilian population" — the intent language that D.C.'s terrorism statute requires prosecutors to allege.
Source: UPI, Nov 13, 2026
What prosecutors say happened on April 25
The 2026 dinner took place on April 25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., and President Trump was present. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., prosecutors say, Allen approached a U.S. Secret Service security screening checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the hotel, sprinted through one of the magnetometers and ran in the direction of the stairs leading to the ballroom where the President was located.
As he did so, he fired a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, hitting a Secret Service officer once in the chest, the Justice Department said. The officer drew his service weapon and fired five times at Allen. Allen fell to the ground, was restrained by law enforcement and was placed under arrest. He suffered a minor injury to his knee but was not shot, and no other injuries were reported in the Justice Department's account.
What officers say they recovered
At the time of his arrest, Allen was in possession of the Mossberg shotgun with one spent cartridge in the barrel, the Justice Department said. He also allegedly possessed a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 calibre pistol, dozens of rounds of unspent 12-gauge shotgun ammunition and .38 calibre ammunition, two knives, four daggers, multiple sheaths, multiple holsters, needle-nose pliers and wire cutters.
The new count is brought under the District of Columbia's own criminal code, not a federal terrorism statute, and is tied to the alleged attempted first-degree murder of the President. It is the count that lifts Allen's maximum exposure to life imprisonment, according to the Justice Department.
Who is running the case
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Ballantine, Charles R. Jones and Adam P. Barry of the National Security Section for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said. The case is listed as 26cr98 in the department's announcement.
What happens next
Allen must now answer the superseding indictment, including the new terrorism count, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Jury selection was previously scheduled to begin on September 7, 2027, with the trial expected to last about three to four weeks, as Awaaz Punjab reported when the trial date was set. Whether the added count changes that timetable is for the court to decide at the next hearings; the Justice Department's November 13 announcement did not announce a new trial date.