Man Attempts Trump Assassination at Dinner

0:00It's April 28th, I'm Cory with the story. This is Global News, driven by AI and built for a global audience. A 31-year-old man from Torrance, California, named Cole Thomas Allen, faces federal charges for trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondent's Association Dinner. Authorities say he rushed a security barricade with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38 caliber pistol, sparking gunfire that got Trump, safely offstage unharmed. The attack happened Saturday night, right as the event kicked off, forcing hundreds of journalists and guests to duck for cover. Allen bought the weapons last year in in 2023, and officials believe he planned it for weeks. He got injured in the chaos, but a secret service agent took a bullet to the vest and survived. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche condemned the violence, stressing it, won't disrupt democracy or threaten leaders. White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt called it a hijacking by an anti-Trump attacker aiming for the president and officials.

1:01The dinner guy canceled, marking a wild end to Trump's first time there as president. Investigators found an email Allen sent to family and a former boss where he called himself a friendly federal assassin and vented about Trump. Administration moves. He's a Caltech Mechanical Engineering grad with a Masters in Computer Science, worked as a tutor, has no criminal record and no strong party ties, despite small democratic donations. Allen's detained with a hearing set for Thursday, facing life in prison if convicted, plus firearms charges. Ballistics tests continue as the full probe unfolds, reminding us how close threats can hit even at big events.