Top prosecutors will remain on the case in the trial against suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Allen, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Allen is accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump and members of his Cabinet during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 25. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Allen’s lawyers have argued that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should be removed from the case because they were present at the event. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden rejected the request in an 18-page opinion, stating that Blanche and Pirro “are unlikely to be trial witnesses, nor do they meet the legal definition of victims,” adding, “Their statements about the investigation and friendships with the President likewise present no basis for screening them from the case,” The New York Post reported.
Allen’s lawyers also argued that statements by Pirro and Blanche demonstrate conflicts of interest. In a filing in early May, Allen’s defense team said it had “grave concerns about whether [prosecutors] are making prosecutorial decisions as representatives of the government or as witnesses.” Judge McFadden rejected these claims in his opinion.
In a post on X, Pirro criticized Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, the Left-wing judge who handled the early stages of Allen’s prosecution, for his soft-on-crime attitude toward his case. Faruqui apologized to Allen for “whatever [he had] been through” and complained that he was held in solitary confinement.
Allen was federally indicted on four charges — attempting to assassinate the president, assault on an officer of the United States with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Allen allegedly distributed a manifesto signed “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen” which stated that he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” CBS reported that the manifesto did not list any targets by name, but administration officials were “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” not including FBI Director Kash Patel.
Allen is one of four individuals accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump. The others include Thomas Matthew Crooks, who shot Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July 2024; Austin Tucker Martin, who attempted to breach Mar-a-Lago earlier this year; and Ryan Wesley Routh. Crooks and Martin are dead, and Routh is currently serving life plus seven years in prison.
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