Cole Tomas Allen will remain jailed for now after waiving an immediate challenge to detention in the federal case alleging he tried to assassinate President Trump.
Cole Tomas Allen will remain in jail for now after waiving his immediate right to challenge detention in the federal case accusing him of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Allen, a 31-year-old California resident, made the decision Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, one day after his defense team had sought his release on bond and prosecutors urged a judge to keep him locked up pending trial.
“He’s conceding detention at this time,” defense lawyer Tezira Abe told Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya. Abe said Allen was preserving his right to contest detention later.
The case centers on prosecutors’ allegation that Allen traveled from Los Angeles to Washington by Amtrak with a cache of weapons and tried to push through a security checkpoint outside the Washington Hilton ballroom, where Trump, Vice President JD Vance, senior administration officials, journalists and other guests were attending Saturday night’s dinner.
Allen is charged with trying to assassinate Trump, transportation of a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. He has been held since Secret Service agents tackled him outside the event, prosecutors said.
In a detention memo filed Wednesday, prosecutors said Allen had a 12-gauge shotgun, a .38-caliber pistol, knives, daggers and ammunition. The filing also cited a selfie prosecutors said Allen took in his hotel room about a half hour before the alleged attempt, showing items consistent with gear later recovered from him, including an ammunition-style bag, a shoulder holster and a sheathed knife.
Prosecutors argued in the filing that no release conditions could adequately protect the public, citing what they described as planning before the event. The memo said Allen searched for information about the dinner after Trump announced he would attend, booked a hotel stay at the Washington Hilton, bought a one-way Amtrak ticket from Los Angeles to Washington and viewed live coverage of Trump’s arrival shortly before the incident.
The hearing also included a procedural clash after Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones asked to present evidence supporting detention despite Allen’s waiver. Upadhyaya questioned why the government wanted to build a record at that stage, noting prosecutors would have to present the evidence again if Allen renews his challenge before a district judge.
“You would be doing your exact same presentation all over again,” Upadhyaya said, denying the request and calling it “truly unprecedented.”
Allen answered quietly when the judge asked whether his lawyers had explained the consequences of conceding detention for now. The next major question in the case is whether the defense later asks another judge to revisit his custody status before trial.
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