A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, October 29, set a September 2027 trial date for Cole Tomas Allen, the California man charged with attempting to kill President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner earlier this year — meaning one of the most serious political-violence cases in the United States will not reach a jury for nearly another year.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden set the date at a status conference on Thursday, in what was Allen's first court appearance in roughly two months. Prosecutors had recommended starting the trial in May 2027, but Judge McFadden chose the later September date after one of Allen's attorneys asked for more time to prepare the defence, the Associated Press reported.
The April 25 attack at the Washington Hilton
Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is accused of storming the correspondents' dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel on April 25, 2026, armed with guns and knives, and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop him. The officer was struck once in a bullet-resistant vest and fired five shots in return, but did not hit anybody, authorities said. Allen himself was injured in the incident, though not by gunfire.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed to safety as the attack unfolded, and the dinner — one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation's capital — was called off early that night. Trump returned to speak at the rescheduled dinner three months later. Shortly after the shooting, Trump told reporters he had heard the gunfire, recalling that Melania said immediately, 'That's a bad noise,' and, asked about his own safety, he said: 'It's a dangerous profession.'
The charges Allen faces
Allen faces four federal charges: attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, which carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison; assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon; and two additional firearms counts. He was indicted on the four charges on May 5, 2026, pleaded not guilty later that month, and remains in custody while the case proceeds.
In writings that authorities say Allen sent to relatives before the attack, he railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a 'Friendly Federal Assassin,' according to prosecutors. Those writings are part of the prosecution's account of the case; Allen has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
Why the trial is still almost a year away
The long timeline reflects the sheer volume of evidence. Prosecutors have said they will produce thousands of pages of documents and gigabytes of data in discovery, including video evidence that tracks Allen's movements from California all the way to Washington, D.C. Both sides and the court also agreed to toll — pause — the speedy-trial clock by 45 days because of the scale of that material, giving the defence time to review it, file pretrial motions and prepare for a trial where a life sentence is at stake.
Lawyers will spend the coming months exchanging evidence and arguing pretrial motions before Judge McFadden. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on September 7, 2027, in Washington, D.C., and the trial itself is expected to last approximately three to four weeks. Allen remains in custody in the meantime.
The case matters well beyond one courtroom. An armed attack that reached the room where the president, senior officials and hundreds of journalists were gathered has kept questions about event security and political violence at the centre of Washington's agenda — and Thursday's decision means those questions will stay in front of a federal jury deep into 2027, rather than being resolved quickly.
An indictment and criminal charges are allegations only. Allen is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and he has entered a plea of not guilty to every count against him.