A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a four-count indictment against Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of rushing a security point at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an attempt to kill President Trump.
The indictment charged Mr. Allen with assaulting a federal agent, indicating that prosecutors now believe Mr. Allen wounded a secret service officer who was shot during the incident, as officers scrambled to secure the annual press gala.
The Justice Department had charged Mr. Allen with attempting to assassinate the president, transporting guns with the intent to commit a felony, and firing a shotgun. But it had stopped short of accusing him of shooting the officer, who was hit in his ballistic vest and survived.
Prosecutors say that Mr. Allen, 31, traveled from California in April with plans to ambush Mr. Trump and other senior administration officials as they mingled with journalists at the dinner.
In an email Mr. Allen is said to have sent to friends and family before the attack, he laid out a hierarchy of potential targets, prioritizing cabinet officials and including Secret Service agents “only if necessary.”
In court filings in April, prosecutors accused Mr. Allen of booking a room in the Washington Hilton, where the event has been held for decades, and plotting the attack ahead of the dinner. Video and photos submitted by the government appeared to show Mr. Allen storming into the area the dinner was being held armed with a shotgun, a pistol and several knives. He was immediately tackled and arrested.
Upon receiving the grand jury indictment, a federal judge scheduled a May 11 arraignment for Mr. Allen, who has yet to enter a plea regarding the initial charges.
Mr. Allen has been held in jail in Washington pending his next court appearance. On Monday, a federal magistrate judge demanded answers about his detention conditions, after Mr. Allen’s lawyers said he had been improperly placed on suicide watch and held in solitary confinement after his arrest.
For days after Mr. Allen’s arrest, the government had not explained why it believed the Secret Service officer identified by the initials “R.V.” had been shot during the incident.
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, had initially announced that a spent shell was found in the shotgun Mr. Allen had carried with him. But an early investigation concluded only that the officer was hit once while wearing a protective vest.
With the new charges, the government formally accused Mr. Allen of firing at the officer.
“Today’s indictment underscores a simple truth: There is evidence this defendant intended to assassinate the president, and that he shot a U.S. Secret Service officer after he traversed the country with a cache of ammunition to accomplish his goals,” Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, said in a statement.
“The use of violence to register dissent is anti-democratic at its core,” she said. “We will pursue the maximum punishment available under the law against anyone who travels to the District of Columbia to engage in such acts.”
During his initial appearance in court in April, a federal magistrate judge told Mr. Allen he could face a sentence of up to life in prison if found guilty of attempting to assassinate the president. Mr. Allen quietly acknowledged the judge, who urged him to speak up through his lawyers if he continued to face harsh conditions, including limited access to phone calls and visits.
Zach Montague is a Times reporter covering the federal courts, including the legal disputes over the Trump administration’s agenda.
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