Suspect in Trump attempted assassination pleads not guilty
WASHINGTON – The man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at a White House reporters' gala last month pleaded not guilty to all charges on May 11.
Cole Allen, 31, did not speak in court as his attorney entered the plea on his behalf. The charges include attempted assassination of the president, assault on a federal officer and firearms offenses.
Prosecutors allege Allen fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent and stormed a security checkpoint in a foiled attack on Trump and other members of his administration at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Investigators say Allen traveled to Washington by train, carrying a shotgun, pistol and knives, and booked a room in the Washington Hilton where the April 25 dinner took place.
Allen wore an orange jumpsuit and was shackled at the waist during the brief court proceeding. It was his first appearance in Washington, DC, federal court before the judge who will preside over the remainder of the case, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden.
A magistrate judge last week apologized to Allen and grilled a jail representative over the conditions Allen had faced since his arrest. His lawyer said he'd been kept alone in a cell and was denied access to a Bible. He had been placed on suicide precautions and isolated from other inmates.
The proceeding on May 11 previewed the next major legal battle in the case: Allen's lawyers want to have acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro disqualified from the case because they were present at the dinner and may have been among Allen's alleged targets.
Allen's lawyer, Eugene Ohm, said the defense is likely to seek recusal of the entire U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, which Pirro leads, because of her friendship with Trump and status as a potential victim.
"It is wholly inappropriate for victims of an alleged event like this to be individually prosecuting the case," Ohm said.
Prosecutors are set to respond to the defense's legal filing by May 22. Pirro previously told CNN in an interview that "my ability to prosecute this case has nothing to do with my being there."
Allen is detained pending his trial, after he dropped his fight against pretrial detention on April 30. He is charged with attempted assassination and firearm charges after prosecutors say he attacked the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 25. He was arrested after firing a shotgun in the direction of a flight of stairs leading to the ballroom dinner area, prosecutors said in an April 29 court filing.
He faces a life term if convicted.
Aysha Bagchi contributed.
(This story has been updated with additional information.)