The armed assault on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner continues to have judicial and political consequences in the United States. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the initial three federal charges against the attacker, Cole Allen, as controversy grows over a possible security breach and the political climate following the incident.
Allen, 31, appeared in federal court charged with attempted assassination of the president of the United States and two other firearms-related crimes. It is not ruled out that the accusation will be expanded in the coming days. In fact, the prosecutor of the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, advanced that new charges could be added and was convinced of the intentionality of the attack: “This was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, in which the accused made clear what his purpose was.”
During the hearing, Allen – with no criminal record, according to his defense – appeared calm, briefly answered the judge’s questions and remained escorted by his legal team. The next court appearance has been set for Thursday.
The Executive avoids criticism for security
In parallel, the Department of Justice has tried to contain criticism about the security of the event, held at the Hilton hotel in Washington. Blanche defended that the protocols “worked”, although she acknowledged that some procedures will be reviewed, especially after the incident and in a context reinforced by the state visit of the British kings, Charles III and Camilla.
The White House charges against the Democrats
The case has also had an immediate political derivative. From the White House, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt attributed the attack to the climate generated by the opposition, accusing Democrats and the media of “demonizing” President Donald Trump and helping to inspire “sick minds.”
In this context, Trump has redoubled his criticism against host Jimmy Kimmel, whom he has asked to be fired “immediately” after a parody broadcast on his program. The president described his words as a “despicable call for violence.”
The controversy has been amplified by the reaction of the first lady, Melania Trump, who censored the comedian’s comments – including a joke about his presence at the dinner – and described them as “rhetoric of hate and violence”, demanding disciplinary measures from the network.
