A judge from the District of Columbia ruled this Thursday preventive detention without bail for, the man accused of trying to assassinate the president of the United StatesDonald Trump, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last Saturday.
Allen appeared at a hearing about 15 minutes in which he accepted the precautionary measure that the prosecution had requested against him, so he will remain in prison. Allen’s resignation to contest the decision marks a turnaround with respect to the judicial brief that his legal team presented on Wednesday to challenge the preventive detention without bail, requested as a precautionary measure by the District of Columbia prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro.
Allen, who appeared in court wearing an orange jumpsuit, currently faces a charge of attempting to kill the president, a crime that can lead to life imprisonment and two others related to the transportation and use of weapons.
However, Pirro herself assured today in an interview with the Fox News network that “many more charges” are planned to be filed against him once the grand jury enters the scene, the group of citizens that must determine whether or not the prosecution has probable cause to formally accuse Allen of one or more serious federal crimes.
The accused tried to break in armed last Saturday into the lounge of the Washington Hilton hotel, in the US capital, where the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association was being held with the presence of Trump, the first lady, Melania; Vice President, JD Vance; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson; and several members of the Government, in addition to some 2,000 guests, including journalists, diplomats and businessmen.
According to the prosecution’s account, after 8:30 p.m., Allen ran at high speed, bypassed the metal arch of a security check and headed towards the stairs leading to the ballroom and fired a shotgun.
Secret Service agents responded with five shots and Allen fell to the ground and was subdued, although he did not suffer any gunshot wounds. The incident left no victims, although the shots caused the evacuation of Trump and the rest of the authorities, in addition to unleashing panic among those attending.
The accused left several emails scheduled before the attack in which he apologized to family and friends, and detailed that his target was members of the Trump Administration and the president himself, whom he called a “pedophile, rapist and traitor.”
According to court documents, Allen planned the attack for weeks and he crossed the country by train, from California to Washington, so he could travel armed – he carried a shotgun, a pistol, knives and daggers – without going through airport security checkpoints. In addition, he booked two nights at the hotel where the gala was being held so he could enter the facilities as a guest, without being invited to the dinner.
