Grand Jury Adds D.C. Terrorism Charge Against Man Accused in Correspondents' Dinner Shooting

A federal grand jury has added a terrorism charge under a local D.C. law to the case of Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on April 25, according to court filings reported this week. Allen now faces five counts, with the top charge being attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. Prosecutors allege he charged through a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber pistol, knives and ammunition, and fired at a Secret Service officer, hitting a bulletproof vest. The earlier charges included assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Allen pleaded not guilty earlier and has not yet entered a plea on the new count. The superseding indictment was announced by D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. No broad federal domestic terrorism statute exists, and the same D.C. law was used against Floyd Corkins, who was convicted over the 2012 attack on the Family Research Council.

The right-leaning New York Post leads with the new charge as an escalation, saying the count could bring a life sentence. It names Pirro as announcing the indictment, describes Allen as having sent an anti-Trump manifesto before the attack, and lists the earlier charges one by one. NBC News, on the left, centers on the legal mechanics, explaining the local D.C. statute, the Corkins precedent, the possible federal terrorism sentencing enhancement and the office's unusual dual jurisdiction. It also notes that the president appoints the office's head and that Pirro is a former judge and Fox News host, details the Post omits. Both agree on the five counts, the April 25 date and the shotgun allegation, and they differ mainly in emphasis: the Post on the manifesto and penalty, NBC on legal context. The Post spells Allen's middle name differently and gives his age as 31. The Hill, in an alternative framing, focuses on the attack, saying Allen ran past security, shot an agent and tried to enter the ballroom.