Pirro reveals Trump attack evidence; Cole Allen challenges suicide precautions
From left, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. attorney in Washington DC Jeanine Pirro, and FBI Director Kash Patel hold a press conference at the Department of Justice regarding Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner attack, Monday, April 27, 2026.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged White House Correspondents’ Association dinner attacker, shot a Secret Service agent who tried to storm the Washington Hilton ballroom last weekend, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Sunday.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Pirro said new ballistic evidence showed the agent’s protective vest contained pellets from the Mossberg shotgun Allen allegedly carried the night of the shooting.
Allen has been accused by federal prosecutors of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in the shooting that left a Secret Service agent shot but not injured. Prosecutors also charged Allen with discharging a firearm during a violent crime, but until Pirro’s comments, law enforcement had not said whose bullet struck the agent.
“This is definitely his bullet,” Pirro said. “He had every intention of killing anyone who got in his way to kill him and the president of the United States.”
So far, it’s unclear whether the allegation that Allen was the person who shot the agent will lead to any additional charges. Prosecutors warned that other charges could be filed in the case.
The shooting at the annual press dinner attended by Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and many senior administration officials was the third assassination attempt on the president since 2024.
Allen, 31, of California, has been in custody since the night of the shooting. He waived his right to appeal his detention on Thursday.
A video still shows Cole Tomas Allen going through security at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Courtesy: USAttyPirro
But on Saturday, Allen’s lawyers filed a application to court He asked the court to remove him from any suicidal measures during his detention.
Allen’s lawyers said they “did not see it and therefore did not claim it.”
“I intended to punish Mr. Allen.”
“However, his use of suicidal measures, as here, even though he showed no signs of being suicidal, amounts to punishment,” they wrote.
They argued that placing him on “suicide watch and suicide precautions constitutes a violation of his rights under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
Allen’s attorneys said he was evaluated May 1 and a prison nurse determined he should be removed from suicide monitoring and suicide precaution protocols. They reported that he was still under suicidal precautions at the time of that day’s visit and that they believed he was still under such precautions.
The defense said Allen’s presence on suicide precautions limited his ability to plead and deprived him of his due process rights. A person held on suicide watch or precaution protocols “is not allowed to interact with others within the facility, visit, make phone calls, or access the commissary or resources such as the law library or prison tablets.”
“Continuing to be housed under precautions is unnecessary and violates Mr. Allen’s due process rights by depriving him of his dignity and access to prison resources,” they wrote.
