US Attorney releases new footage of suspect in White House correspondents' dinner attack

Washington DC [US], May 1 : US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro on Thursday (local time) released a footage connected to the alleged assassination attempt against President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

In a post on X, Pirro said, "Today, we are releasing video already provided to US District Court showing Cole Allen shoot a U.S. Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents' Dinner."

Pirro also pushed back against speculation surrounding the shooting, stating, "There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire."

According to the statement, the released footage additionally shows Allen "casing the area in the Hilton Hotel the day before the attack," suggesting prosecutors believe the incident was premeditated.

Pirro said her office and federal investigators are continuing to pursue the case aggressively. "My office along with the @FBI will continue this extensive investigation to bring Cole Allen to justice," she said.

Meanwhile, on Monday, US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche informed that the Department of Justice has filed three federal charges against Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, as the investigation continues.

The charges include attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, as he added that more charges are expected.

The case stems from the Saturday night incident at the Washington Hilton in Washington DC, where Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other senior officials were present. According to investigators, Allen approached a security checkpoint at the hotel and ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun. Secret Service personnel heard a gunshot as he moved through the checkpoint, and one Secret Service officer was shot in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest, according to court documents unsealed on Monday.

Federal prosecutors said Allen travelled across multiple state lines with firearms before the attack. He is accused of arriving in Washington after travelling by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to the capital between April 21 and April 24. The charging documents say he checked into the Hilton on the day he arrived. Prosecutors also said Allen carried a 12-gauge pump action shotgun, a Rock Island Armoury 1911 .38 calibre pistol and three knives.

US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the probe will lead to more charges. "Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was," Pirro said.

"And that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking Cabinet officials as he could," she said, adding that Allen's "journey of accountability in the criminal justice system starts today."

Pirro also said the weapons Allen allegedly had at the time of the attack showed that "any suggestion that he wasn't there to do harm is absurd."

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