Cole Tomas Allen pleads not guilty in Secret Service attack

Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from California accused of firing a shotgun at a U.S. Secret Service agent during the White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington, pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges connected to the April 25 incident. Allen entered the plea in federal court in Washington before U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, wearing an orange jail uniform and in shackles. His attorney entered the plea on his behalf, and Allen did not speak in court.

According to prosecutors, Allen moved through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton, where President Donald Trump and other senior officials and members of the press were gathered, and fired a weapon. A Secret Service officer was struck in the chest area while wearing a bullet-resistant vest, prosecutors said. The agent survived and was later able to continue working, and the attack disrupted the event and led to the evacuation of Trump and other officials.

Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and related firearms counts. Federal authorities allege he traveled to Washington by train with multiple weapons, including...