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Man charged with trying to kill President Donald Trump took picture of himself before alleged attack

  • The Associated Press

  • Canadian Press

  • April 29, 2026

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice, April 29, 2026, shows Cole Tomas Allen, left, inside his hotel room, on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Washington, using his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror. An enhanced version of the image is right. (Department of Justice via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and is accused of trying to kill President Donald Trump took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes earlier, outfitted with an ammunition bag, shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife, investigators said Wednesday in a new court filing.

Cole Allen wore black pants, a black shirt and a red tie as he snapped the image in his room at the Washington Hilton, the venue where Trump and hundreds of journalists were meeting for a gala Saturday night.

Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was captured when he tried to race past a security barricade near the ballroom, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents tasked with safeguarding the event. Allen's defender says he's presumed innocent.

Trump was not hurt.