An image released by prosecutors shows a selfie of Cole Tomas Allen taken in his hotel room before an attack on the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washinton. Photo / US Attorney for the District of Colombia via AFP
An image released by prosecutors shows a selfie of Cole Tomas Allen taken in his hotel room before an attack on the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washinton. Photo / US Attorney for the District of Colombia via AFP
The man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump took a selfie in his hotel room moments before bursting through security with a pump-action shotgun, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Cole Tomas Allen launched his attack just after 8.30pm on Saturday, descending from his room at a Washington Hilton andtrying to get into the basement ballroom where Trump and other senior officials had joined a media gala dinner, prosecutors said.
The 31-year-old was tackled and detained in a chaotic scuffle with security guards. Shots were fired but no one was killed.
A prosecution-labelled detail of the selfie, showing: 1) an ammunition bag; 2) a shoulder holster; 3) a sheathed knife; and 4) wire cutters. Photo / US Attorney for the District of Colombia via AFP
According to prosecutors, Allen spent his last minutes checking websites that covered Trump’s whereabouts, arming himself, and posing for a selfie taken in the mirror of his room.
A copy of the photo showed him dressed in black, with a red tie, and carrying a knife, a shoulder holster for a handgun and what authorities said was a bag for ammunition.
As he left his room, scheduled emails went out to friends and family with a manifesto explaining his actions.
The details of Allen’s alleged preparations for what prosecutors called an attack of “unfathomable malice” emerged in a filing asking a Washington federal court to deny bail.
The filing stated: “The court should detain the defendant pending trial.
“The political nature of the defendant’s crimes further counsels in favour of detention because the defendant’s motivation for committing the crimes exists so long as he disagrees [with the government].”
Prosecutors allege that Allen, a teacher from California, made the journey to Washington carrying an arsenal that included the shotgun, a handgun and numerous knives.
Once in his Hilton room, he wrote of his surprise at what he thought was the lax security in the hotel, saying he had walked in “with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat”.
US Attorney evidence photos of the weapons Allen had in his possession, including a shotgun and a handgun. Photo / US Attorney for the District of Colombia via AFP
He said he hoped not to kill Secret Service bodyguards or other law enforcement or hotel guests.
According to the court filing, Cole discarded his long coat once he reached the hotel entrance area and sprinted through one set of metal detectors, his shotgun at the ready.
Cole allegedly fired the shotgun “in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom”. A Secret Service agent then fired five times, but did not hit Cole, who fell and was then restrained.
The filing said: “The defendant suffered a minor injury to his knee but was not shot.”
