White House briefs after suspect charged

The Justice Department said April 27 that Cole Tomas Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. (justice.gov) Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was arraigned in federal court in Washington on one attempted-assassination count and two firearms counts tied to the April 25 attack. (justice.gov) (pbs.org) A judge kept Allen in custody for now after prosecutors sought detention, and his lawyer Tezira Abe said he has no criminal record and is presumed innocent. (pbs.org) According to the criminal case outlined by the Justice Department, Allen reserved a room at the Washington Hilton on April 6 for April 24 through April 26 and traveled by train from near Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington. (justice.gov) The White House briefing the same day came after Trump had been rushed from the stage Saturday night, with guests ducking under tables as shots were fired during the annual press gala. (pbs.org) (whitehouse.gov) Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s April 27 briefing was posted by the White House as officials addressed the attack publicly while the criminal case moved into court. (whitehouse.gov 1) (whitehouse.gov 2) Prosecutors had not publicly laid out a full motive by Monday, but the Associated Press reported investigators were examining a message Allen allegedly sent to relatives minutes before the attack and other writings and social media posts. (pbs.org) Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on April 27 that Allen “now faces the full weight of federal justice,” while the Justice Department called the charges a first step as investigators continue the case. (justice.gov) The immediate next step is a detention process and the progression from complaint to prosecution, with White House officials leaving the core facts of the case to federal investigators and the court. (pbs.org) (justice.gov)