New Ballistics Evidence Ties Allen’s Shotgun to Wounded Secret Service Agent
CNBC reported Sunday that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has publicly confirmed Cole Allen ballistics evidence linking the shooting suspect directly to a wounded Secret Service agent. The disclosure came during a television appearance the same morning Allen’s defense team filed a legal challenge over his prison conditions.
Pirro Names the Shooter in Agent’s Wounding
Pirro told CNN that forensic analysis of the agent’s protective vest recovered a buckshot pellet. That pellet, she said, matched the Mossberg pump-action shotgun Cole Tomas Allen allegedly carried during last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Before her statement, prosecutors had not publicly said whose bullet struck the agent.
The agent was not seriously injured. Allen, 31, of California, faces federal charges including attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and unlawful firearm discharge during a violent crime. Pirro said investigators believe the wounding was intentional. It remains unclear whether the ballistics finding will produce additional charges, though prosecutors have previously signaled more counts are possible.
Background: A Third Attempt on the President’s Life
The WHCA dinner attack was the third alleged assassination attempt against Trump since 2024. The annual press dinner at the Washington Hilton was attended by the president, Vice President JD Vance, and numerous senior administration officials. Allen was apprehended the same night and has been held without bail since his arrest. He waived his right to contest detention at a hearing last Thursday.
Also Read: Trump Tells Congress Iran Hostilities Have Terminated at War Powers Deadline
Defense Challenges Prison Conditions as Due Process Violation
Allen’s attorneys separately filed a court motion Saturday arguing his placement on suicide precautions violates his constitutional rights. Lawyers said a jail nurse assessed Allen on May 1 and recommended removing him from both suicide watch and precautionary protocols. Defense counsel reported he remained under those restrictions during a visit that day.
The filing argued that suicide precaution status bars Allen from communicating with others inside the facility. He is also blocked from receiving visits, placing calls, or accessing the jail’s law library and tablets. His lawyers contended those restrictions impair his ability to prepare a defense, constituting a due process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment. They stated they had seen no evidence of intent to punish their client, but said the practical effect amounted to punishment regardless.
Prosecutors have not publicly responded to the prison conditions filing.
Read Next: Trump Iran War Powers Deadline Passes as White House Claims Hostilities Ended
