LAST UPDATE | 27 Apr

THE MAN ACCUSED of opening fire at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday has been charged with trying to assassinate US president Donald Trump. 

Cole Thomas Allen (31) was also charged with two weapons offences relating to the incident at the Hilton hotel in Washington DC.

He faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted of trying to kill Trump.

Allen, of Torrance, California, is being represented by lawyers with the federal defender’s office and sat beside them in court in a blue jail uniform.

He was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transport of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce and with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

He did not enter a plea at the hearing, and was held pending his next court appearance.

A courtroom sketch depicting Cole Tomas Allen appearing before Magistrate Judge Matthew J Sharbaugh, in federal court today. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Prosecutors told the court that Allen was carrying a pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic pistol and three knives when he tried to break through security at the Hilton hotel.

Several shots were fired before he was subdued in a chaotic encounter near a checkpoint. Cole never got close to Trump or the other guests attending the large-scale dinner event on a lower floor.

The US president and members of his government, including vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, were rushed out of the venue after the sound of gunshots erupted.

Authorities say an officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest but is expected to recover.

The judge assigned two assistant public defenders to represent Allen.

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One of them, Tezira Abe, noted that Allen does not have a criminal record and “is presumed innocent at this time”.

Acting attorney general Todd Blanche has said Allen is believed to have travelled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where he checked himself in as a guest at the hotel where the gala dinner was held.

Video posted by Trump shows a man, who authorities say was armed with guns and knives, running past a security barricade as Secret Service agents run towards him.

Records show Allen is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.

A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counselling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.