Washington, D.C. — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Thursday evening made public a compilation of surveillance footage related to the alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The nearly six-minute video, which prosecutors say leaves nothing to interpretation, was posted to social media after being provided to the U.S. District Court. It details the movements of Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California man accused of charging an armed security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026.
"Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the President of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was. That intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could. This is the kind of situation that we cannot tolerate." — Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
The released footage integrates views from multiple synchronized, high-definition surveillance cameras within the Washington Hilton. It begins not on the night of the alleged attack, but the evening prior, April 24, 2026. Hotel surveillance captured Allen leaving his 10th-floor room dressed in black, carrying a black bag containing a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives. He reportedly used an interior stairwell to bypass more heavily monitored areas of the hotel. Camera 16, located in the hotel’s fitness area, recorded Allen moving through the gym space on April 24, an action prosecutors contend constitutes reconnaissance aimed at learning the building's layout for the planned attack.
Court documents also reveal Allen's digital footprint leading up to the incident. On April 6, less than two hours before receiving a confirmation email for a two-night stay at the Washington Hilton from April 24 to 26, Allen searched “white house correspondents dinner 2026” on his cellphone. Minutes before the alleged attack on April 25, at approximately 8:27 p.m., Allen reportedly used his phone to watch live media coverage of President Trump and the First Lady arriving at the dinner, followed by a web search for “trump white house correspondents dinner.”
The footage also includes a selfie taken by Allen inside his hotel room about a half-hour before the confrontation. In the photograph, he is seen wearing a black dress shirt, black slacks, a red necktie tucked into his pants, an ammunition bag, a shoulder holster, and a sheathed knife.
The confrontation itself, captured frame-by-frame on the federal video, lasted approximately seven seconds. A Secret Service officer was shot point-blank in the chest with a shotgun. Secret Service Director Sean Curran stated that the officer, while falling, returned fire, getting off five shots. The video shows the officer drawing his handgun and firing multiple times as Allen sprinted toward and through the checkpoint with a long gun in hand. The officer survived the shooting due to the protective vest he was wearing. The distance between the security checkpoint and the ballroom staircase was approximately 40 feet.
U.S. Attorney Pirro addressed online speculation regarding the source of the officer's wound. “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire,” Pirro wrote in her social media post. She added, “The video also shows Allen casing the area in the Hilton Hotel the day before the attack. My office along with the [FBI] will continue this extensive investigation to bring Cole Allen to justice.” Pirro also stated separately on Fox News, “We know [Allen] fired off that 12-gauge shotgun one time.”
Allen had traveled to Washington D.C. by Amtrak train, taking the Southwest Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago before boarding a connecting route to the capital, arriving on the afternoon of April 24. He faces three federal counts: attempted assassination of the President, transportation of a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. Prosecutors have indicated that more charges are expected.
Investigators also recovered a manifesto attributed to Allen, which outlined plans to target Trump administration officials. Authorities said the documents included references to the suspect describing himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin.” President Trump described Allen as “a sick guy,” adding of the manifesto: “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians. That’s one thing for sure.”
The Washington Hilton has now been the site of two apparent presidential assassination attempts, the first being the shooting of President Ronald Reagan outside the same hotel in 1981. U.S. Attorney Pirro underscored the gravity of the incident at a press conference, stating, “Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the President of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was. That intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could. This is the kind of situation that we cannot tolerate.” The investigation by Pirro's office and the FBI remains ongoing.
