The suspect of the White House press dinner shooting has been charged with ‘attempt to assassinate’ the president, reported The Associated Press on Monday (local time). The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of California’s Torrance, will face a life sentence if he is convicted.ย ย
Allen, who war carrying ‘multiple weapons’ during Saturday’s shooting, appeared in a federal court in Washington on Monday. He was represented by lawyers with the federal defender’s office. Allen, who did not enter a plea, was charged with “transport of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce and with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence”.
Allen, who was represented by two assistant public defenders, including Tezira Abe, told the court that he does not have a criminal background and is “presumed innocent at this time”.ย
Motive yet to be revealed
During Monday’s hearing, Allen’s motive was not revealed by the prosecutors, but in the manifesto Allen sent to his family members just before he carried out the attack, he called himself as ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’, who it is supposed that was alluded to grievances over actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration.ย
His manifesto, along with his social media writings, are being treated by investigators as an evidence of his mindset and possible motives, The Associated Press reported.
Allen was a hotel guest
As per acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Allen travelled to Chicago from California via train and then moved to Washington at the Hilton Hotel where he checked in as a guest. The next thing that happened was Allen’s video getting viral in which he was seen running past a security barricade, firing multiple rounds before being subdued by a law enforcement personnel.
Authorities say Allen, whom Trump described as “pretty evil”, is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology. He also has pursued a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the California State University-Dominguez Hills. Besides, many reports have also described him as an amateur video game developer.ย
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