Overview
- A Justice Department filing released Wednesday included mirror selfies, a full weapons inventory, and a minute‑by‑minute timeline, and it asked a judge to keep Cole Tomas Allen in jail ahead of a Thursday detention hearing.
- During Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton, a Secret Service officer reported that Allen fired a 12‑gauge shotgun toward stairs leading to the ballroom as agents returned fire, evacuated President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, and shielded an officer whose vest stopped a shot.
- Prosecutors say Allen planned the attack for weeks, booking the hotel after researching the event, traveling cross‑country by train with a shotgun, pistol, knives, and ammunition, and scheduling apology emails for 8:30 p.m. as he rushed the checkpoint.
- Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Katie Britt said they will introduce legislation to authorize $400 million for a new White House ballroom, arguing the facility would provide a secure venue for large events that include the line of succession.
- The ballroom project remains tied up in court after a judge ruled Congress must authorize above‑ground construction, as the DOJ now urges the court to lift its order citing the shooting, and preservationists reply that security concerns do not override legal limits.