The man accused of opening fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April is now facing an attempted terrorism charge.
The office of Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, announced Friday that a federal grand jury had charged 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen with terrorism.
Allen had already been indicted on a charge of attempting to assassinate the President of the United States. Prosecutors say he ran through a Secret Service checkpoint before exchanging gunfire with agents posted outside the annual media gathering at the Washington Hilton.
President Donald Trump was seated at the event’s head table when the shooting occurred.
Federal prosecutors allege that Allen “attempted to kill the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”
The indictment also accuses Allen of attacking a US officer or employee with a deadly weapon, carrying a firearm and ammunition across state lines with the intention of committing a felony, and firing a gun during a violent crime.
The sound of the shooting reached the ballroom, prompting journalists and guests to dive beneath tables for cover.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were quickly escorted to safety.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, seen on the floor of the Washington Hilton in the immediate aftermath of the attack, is now facing a terrorism charge, determined by a federal grand jury
President Donald Trump (right), First Lady Melania Trump (center) and now former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (left) are photographed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April before the gun attack
Vice President JD Vance was also at the dinner.
No one suffered major injuries in the attack.
A Secret Service agent was hit in the chest by buckshot fired from Allen’s Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun.
The agent was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Later that night, Trump delivered an impromptu news conference from the White House podium and told reporters he intended to attend the dinner again.
A replacement event was held in late July, although organizers moved it to another Washington, DC, hotel.
With the new terrorism count, Allen now faces five charges.
He had previously entered not-guilty pleas to the charges against him.
This image, contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice, shows Cole Tomas Allen inside his hotel room, on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington, using his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror
US Secret Service agents are seen responding to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on April 25. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance were whisked away to safe locations moments later
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner takes place annually in the grand underground ballroom of the Washington Hilton. This year’s makeup dinner was moved to the Waldorf Astoria in the aftermath of Allen’s attack
President Donald Trump calls on a reporter during an impromptu press conference from the White House briefing room in the aftermath of the White House Correspondent’s Dinner shooting
On Friday, Allen also pleaded not guilty to the terrorism allegation.
NBC News reported that Allen was charged under a local Washington, DC, law because the federal government does not have a specific domestic terrorism statute.
Pirro’s office has the unusual authority to prosecute both federal offenses and local crimes involving adult defendants.
Allen is due back in court on December 4 for a status conference.
His jury trial is currently set to begin on September 7, 2027.