Prosecutors Release Surveillance Footage Showing Suspect's Movements Before White House Correspondents' Dinner Attack

Federal prosecutors released new surveillance footage on April 30 showing the moments before and during the April 25 attack at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C., documenting how suspect Cole Tomas Allen moved through the Washington Hilton before allegedly sprinting through a security checkpoint armed with a long gun while President Donald Trump was inside the hotel ballroom.

The Details

The footage was posted publicly by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, on April 30. According to prosecutors and video descriptions published by multiple outlets, the recordings appear to show Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, moving around the hotel in the time leading up to the attack. The footage then shows him sprinting from a doorway toward a security checkpoint on the terrace level of the Washington Hilton — and doing so seconds after a K-9 officer walked away from the area, according to those descriptions.

Authorities say Allen ran through a magnetometer carrying a long gun, heading toward the hotel ballroom where President Trump and administration officials were attending the annual dinner. Officials say Allen was carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives or daggers at the time of the attack.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the attack was stopped within seconds at the outer perimeter of a multi-layered security zone. Trump was located approximately 355 feet from the checkpoint at the time. "The site was set up perfectly," Curran said in a Fox News interview.

One Secret Service officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the chest during the confrontation but was not seriously injured, officials said. Pirro, in a statement posted alongside the newly released video on X, said the footage shows Allen shooting the officer. "There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire," Pirro wrote.

However, the footage's contents remain disputed. Reporting from The Guardian indicates the video does not make it immediately clear whether Allen discharged his weapon or whether the footage proves who struck the officer. A published description of the footage noted what appeared to be four muzzle flashes from the Secret Service agent's gun, while AP reporting cited five return shots. Both the question of who fired the shot that struck the officer and the precise number of shots returned by the agent remain unresolved across public accounts.

At a federal court hearing on April 30 — the same day the new footage was released — Allen agreed to remain jailed while awaiting trial. He did not enter a plea at that hearing.

Context

The White House Correspondents' Association dinner is one of Washington's highest-profile annual media and political events, drawing journalists, politicians, and administration officials each year. This year's dinner was held at the Washington Hilton on April 25 when the attack occurred.

Allen was charged federally on April 28 with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and transporting firearms across state lines. Prosecutors say Allen was targeting President Trump at the event. Allen could face life in prison if convicted on the most serious count.

Pirro is the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and personally posted the newly released surveillance footage. In her statement accompanying the video, she asserted that the footage shows Allen shooting a Secret Service officer and that there is no evidence of friendly fire. The case is before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

What's Next

Allen has not yet entered a plea. He is being held in federal custody following his April 30 agreement to remain jailed pending trial. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for May 11 in federal court in Washington, D.C.