First Thing: White House dinner suspect charged with attempted assassination

Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, stands with acting attorney general Todd Blanche as she speaks at a news conference about the case of Cole Tomas Allen. Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/ShutterstockView image in fullscreenJeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, stands with acting attorney general Todd Blanche as she speaks at a news conference about the case of Cole Tomas Allen. Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/ShutterstockFirst Thing newsletterUS newsFirst Thing: White House dinner suspect charged with attempted assassinationAlleged shooter, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, faces potential life sentence. Plus, the Americans renouncing their citizenship Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Vivian HoTue 28 Apr 2026 08.12 EDTLast modified on Tue 28 Apr 2026 08.52 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleGood morning.The suspect accused of trying to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner was charged on Monday with three federal crimes, including attempting to assassinate the president – a charge that carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.The alleged shooter, identified by law enforcement agencies as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, appeared in federal court in a blue jail jumpsuit alongside lawyers with the federal defender’s office. Jocelyn Ballantine, a federal prosecutor, said he was armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a pistol and three knives when he was tackled by law enforcement officers on Saturday night outside the Hilton hotel ballroom where the annual dinner was being held. What was his motive? Investigators have yet to release one. However, to establish the charge of attempted assassination, the affidavit quotes from a part of a manifesto Allen allegedly sent to family members that states: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” Was lax security to blame? While many have praised the actions of law enforcement officers in swiftly stopping the attack, Allen’s alleged manifesto mocked an “insane” lack of security at the Washington dinner. What is the Trump administration saying about the attack? Several officials, including the president, have seized on the incident to advance their case for the completion of Trump’s $40m White House ballroom project, with the justice department pressuring a preservation group to drop a lawsuit seeking to halt the construction. King Charles expected to allude to strained relations between UK and US in rare address to CongressView image in fullscreenPresident Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump host King Charles III and Queen Camilla for afternoon tea at the White House. Photograph: Getty ImagesKing Charles is scheduled make a rare to address Congress on Tuesday on the second day of his first state visit to the US since becoming king in 2022. The king and Queen Camilla arrived at the White House on Monday, where they were greeted with handshakes from Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump.The king is expected to allude to recent strains between the UK and US by underlining that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”. Will there be an Oval Office meeting? Sources told the Guardian that Charles will pose for the cameras at the start of his centerpiece bilateral meeting on Tuesday, but that British officials have pushed for the Oval Office meeting to be held off camera, for fear of a repeat of the scenes when Trump…

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