Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old California man who allegedly brought a shotgun to the White House correspondents' dinner on April 25, is now facing an additional charge of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon. Because apparently one assassination attempt charge wasn't enough to keep the legal system entertained.
The new charge, announced Tuesday, accuses Allen of firing at a Secret Service agent during his sprint past a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton. This joins a three-count indictment that already included attempted assassination, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and illegal transportation of a firearm and ammunition across state lines. Allen allegedly fired a shotgun that hit a Secret Service agent in the chest - though the agent's bulletproof vest meant he walked away with nothing worse than a story to tell at future dinner parties.
Prosecutors claim Allen was heading for the ballroom where Donald Trump and other senior officials dined with roughly 2,500 journalists. Several other weapons were found in his possession, suggesting he came prepared for multiple courses of mayhem. The initial charges filed on April 29 didn't mention the shooting, but U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro released video last Thursday showing the moment Allen charged the checkpoint, with a pellet from his shotgun later found intertwined with fibers from the agent's vest.
"The use of violence to register dissent is anti-democratic at its core," Pirro said, vowing to pursue maximum punishment. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche added that the heavily armed defendant "was stopped thanks to the courageous and immediate response from law enforcement" - which is a diplomatic way of saying security did their job before anyone got to practice their acceptance speech.