Prosecutors Release CCTV Footage of Alleged Assassination Attempt at White House Correspondents' Dinner
Federal prosecutors have released security camera footage of the moment Cole Tomas Allen allegedly tried to storm the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last week in an attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The video, posted on social media by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, includes captions asserting that Allen fired his weapon before being subdued.
Details of the Incident
The edited footage shows Allen casing the hotel location the night before the dinner, according to Pirro's captions. The video then depicts Allen rushing through a metal detector checkpoint and shooting a Secret Service agent as officers were removing one of the two magnetometers used for screening guests. Pirro claimed there is no evidence that the agent, who wore a bulletproof vest, was hit by friendly fire.
The video, which is slowed down and annotated at certain points, has been provided to the U.S. District Court where Allen was charged. It contains no audio. While the footage shows four muzzle flashes from an agent's gun, it is not immediately clear whether it shows Allen discharging his weapon after pointing it at the agent.
Conflicting Accounts
The release of the video comes amid questions about whether Allen fired his weapon. U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran told Fox News that Allen was stopped not by gunfire but by tripping over a box used to transport a metal detector. Curran confirmed that Allen was not hit by any of the five shots fired at him by a Secret Service agent.
Curran reiterated the government's claim that Allen fired first, hitting the agent who returned fire. However, this contention has been challenged by Allen's public defenders and a Washington Post video analysis of security-camera footage, which documented only four shots, all fired by the Secret Service agent.
Legal Proceedings
In a letter to federal prosecutors, public defenders noted that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche suggested the government was still working to produce ballistic evidence that the Secret Service agent, identified by initials VG, was shot by Allen. Allen was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony, and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence. He has yet to enter a plea. Earlier Thursday, Allen agreed to remain in federal custody while his case proceeds.
