Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of storming the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer, pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court in Washington. The plea came at Allen’s arraignment before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, with defense attorneys entering the plea on Allen’s behalf after he did not speak during the brief hearing, court reporting said.
Allen’s lawyers also pressed a separate legal bid: they asked the judge to disqualify at least two top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him, arguing that those officials could be considered victims or witnesses. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the event when Allen ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun, authorities said.
The defense’s request focused on whether Blanche and Pirro could be drawn into the case in a way that creates a conflict. In a court filing last week, Allen’s attorneys argued that it creates “at least the appearance” of a conflict for Blanche and Pirro to make any prosecutorial decisions. The judge, who did not rule from the bench, instead asked the defense to elaborate on the scope of any recusal.
Defense attorney Eugene Ohm said the defense likely would seek to disqualify Pirro’s entire office from involvement in the matter. Ohm acknowledged that a bid to disqualify the entire Justice Department would be unlikely, and the judge said, “That would be quite a request.” McFadden gave prosecutors until May 22 to respond in writing and asked the government to specify whether it believes Pirro and Blanche could be considered victims in the case, the reporting said.
In their filing, Allen’s attorneys suggested that appointing a special prosecutor might be warranted. Allen is scheduled to return to court on June 29.
Prosecutors said a Secret Service officer was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest during the April 25 attack at the Washington Hilton hotel, which disrupted and prompted an early end to the event. Authorities said the officer fired five shots during the confrontation but did not hit anyone. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot.
In addition to the attempted-assassination count, Allen was charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts. The attempted-assassination charge alone carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison if convicted.
The case also includes details about Allen’s custody conditions after his arrest and what prosecutors said he did in the hours before the attack. Reporting said Allen was placed on suicide watch after his arrest, but jail officials later removed him from that status. His attorneys complained that he was held in a padded room with constant lighting, repeatedly strip-searched and placed in restraints outside his cell.
Prosecutors also said Allen told FBI agents he didn’t expect to survive the attack, a statement cited by a Justice Department prosecutor as helping explain why Allen was viewed as a possible suicide risk. Authorities said Allen was outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife when he took a photo of himself in his hotel room just minutes before the attack, and that a message he sent, which authorities said sheds light on his motive, referenced grievances related to actions by President Trump’s Republican administration.
During the Saturday night event, Trump was rushed off the stage by his security team after the attack and then appeared at the White House about two hours later, still in his tuxedo, to talk about what happened and the suspect. Allen’s attorneys’ recusal effort follows earlier filings seeking to remove senior Justice Department officials from the case; MSI previously reported that Allen sought recusal of those officials in the dinner-attack case.