The Daily Fuckup

A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Cole Tomas Allen on May 5, charging him with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon in connection with the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton. Prosecutors also say Allen faces charges for transporting a firearm and ammunition across state lines and for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. An indictment is an allegation, not a finding of guilt. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/indictment-charges-cole-tomas-allen-attempt-assassinate-president-and-assault-federal))

According to the Justice Department, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel’s Terrace Level shortly after 8:30 p.m. and sprinted through a magnetometer while holding a long gun. Prosecutors say he fired a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, striking a Secret Service officer in the chest. The officer was wearing a ballistic vest and returned fire before Allen was restrained and taken into custody. Officials say Allen also had a Rock Island Armory .38-caliber pistol, ammunition, and knives when he was arrested. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/indictment-charges-cole-tomas-allen-attempt-assassinate-president-and-assault-federal))

The filing tightens the criminal record around what investigators say happened that night, but it does not itself answer every question about how the breach was possible. The public record in the complaint and indictment describes the attack, the checkpoint, the arrest, and the weapons recovered. It does not by itself provide a full account of every security step before the shooting or what changes, if any, the Secret Service or other agencies have made since then. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/indictment-charges-cole-tomas-allen-attempt-assassinate-president-and-assault-federal))

The correction here is simple: the shooting happened on April 25, 2026. May 5, 2026 was the day the grand jury returned the indictment. That chronology matters because the crime and the court filing are related, but they are not the same event. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/indictment-charges-cole-tomas-allen-attempt-assassinate-president-and-assault-federal))