Overview
- Cole Tomas Allen, 31, allegedly rushed a security checkpoint during Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, with a Secret Service agent struck in the vest, and he now faces attempted assassination and firearms charges that could bring life in prison.
- Prosecutors disclosed Wednesday that Allen tracked the president’s movements and photographed weapons in his hotel room, releasing images and a detailed timeline while seeking to keep him in federal custody ahead of a Thursday detention hearing.
- Surveillance images published by the Washington Post show Allen running past metal detectors with a shotgun as an officer fires, and the Justice Department says agents saw him shoot toward stairs leading to the ballroom, though some reporting notes reviewed video shows no clear indication he fired inside.
- UnitedHealth said Tuesday it had terminated an employee over a TikTok that appeared to cheer the attack, with multiple reports identifying the worker as Alison King.
- Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday that viral images linking the suspect to celebrities were AI-generated fakes, and Meta said it had begun removing posts that violated its policies.