Man charged in White House correspondents' dinner attack pleads not guilty

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of storming the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner while armed with guns and knives pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he attempted to kill President Donald Trump and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the attack.

Cole Tomas Allen was handcuffed and shackled and wearing an orange jail uniform when he appeared in federal court for his arraignment. Allen didn’t speak during the brief hearing. One of his attorneys entered the plea on his behalf.

Allen’s lawyers are asking U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden to disqualify at least two top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the event when Allen ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer, authorities said. Defense attorney Eugene Ohm said the defense likely would seek to disqualify Pirro's entire office from involvement in the case.

McFadden didn’t rule from the bench on that question but asked Allen’s attorneys to elaborate on the possible scope of their recusal request.

A Secret Service officer was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest during the April 25 attack at at the Washington Hilton, which disrupted and ultimately prompted an early end to one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot.

Allen is scheduled to return to court on June 29.

Besides the attempted-assassination count, Allen also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.

Allen was placed on suicide watch after his arrest, but jail officials removed him from that status after several days. Allen’s attorneys complained that he had been unnecessarily confined in a padded room with constant lighting, repeatedly strip searched and placed in restraints outside his cell.

Allen told FBI agents that he didn’t expect to survive the attack, which could help explain why he was deemed to be a possible suicide risk, a Justice Department prosecutor said.