The Department of Justice revealed Wednesday that Cole Allen, the 31-year-old charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, took a mirror selfie just 30 minutes before the shooting. The photo, included in a DOJ memo supporting pretrial detention, shows Allen in a black dress shirt and red tie, wearing a small leather bag that officials say matches the ammunition-filled bag recovered from him. The image also captures the butt of a handgun in a shoulder holster, along with a knife, pliers, and wire cutters on his belt.
According to the DOJ, Allen left his room at the Washington Hilton 12 minutes after snapping the selfie. He then opened his phone to watch live coverage of Trump arriving at the hotel for the White House Correspondents Dinner. Investigators say he searched for “trump white house correspondents dinner” online before sending pre-scheduled emails with an attachment titled “Apology and Explanation.”
In that attachment, Allen apologized to his parents, relatives, and colleagues, as well as “to everyone who was abused and/or murdered before this, to all those who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure.” He added, “I am a citizen of the United State of America. What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
The DOJ stated that after sending the emails, “the defendant rushed the screening checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the Washington Hilton with a raised shotgun.” Allen was armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38-caliber pistol with 10 rounds, two additional handgun magazines, two knives, four daggers, needlenose pliers, and wire cutters.
“Had the defendant achieved his intended outcome, he would have brought about one of the darkest days in American history,” the DOJ memo reads. “This was a planned attack of unfathomable malice that risked the lives of hundreds of people whose only transgression was attending an annual event celebrating the media and featuring the President of the United States.” The memo concluded, “It was, at its core, an anti-democratic act of political violence.”
Allen did not enter a plea during his Monday arraignment. He faces charges including attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of firearms with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted of the attempted assassination charge, he could receive life in prison. The other charges carry up to 10 years each, with a mandatory consecutive 10-year minimum for the firearms count.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro indicated Saturday that additional charges are likely, including assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. The attack was the third prominent attempt on Trump’s life, following incidents at a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and while golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The fallout from the shooting continues to ripple across Washington. For more on the aftermath, see our analysis of Trump’s escalating attacks on press freedom and the latest on new charges and Trump’s push for a ballroom.
