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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Lawyers representing Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at last month's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, have asked two Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys to recuse themselves from prosecuting Allen's case over potential conflict of interest concerns.
Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from California, is accused of breaching security and opening fire on April 25, forcing the Secret Service to remove Trump and members of his Cabinet from the event, which Trump was attending for the first time as president alongside first lady Melania Trump.
In a court document filed on Thursday, attorneys for Allen requested that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche disqualify themselves from prosecuting the case, arguing that their presence at the scene could make them partial to the outcome of the case and create conflict of interest issues.
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Newsweek contacted the DOJ for comment by email outside normal business hours.
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What Happened at White House Correspondents' Dinner
Video Trump posted on his Truth Social platform showed the suspect, identified as Allen by law enforcement, running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest and is recovering, officials said. Allen was tackled to the ground and apprehended.
Allen is alleged to have had a shotgun, six knives, a pistol and rounds of ammunition and shotgun cartridges.
In a message authorities said Allen sent to family members minutes before attempting to breach the dinner, Allen thanked his church family and invoked Christian theological traditions to justify the violence that was about to occur.
"Hello everybody," the message began. Over more than 1,000 words, the message wove together apologies to loved ones, political grievances and religious reasoning. It cited Scripture throughout and argued that Christians have a moral obligation to resist unjust authority through force.
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Allen on four counts—assaulting a federal agent, attempting to assassinate the president, transporting guns with the intent to commit a felony and firing a shotgun.
Allen's Case for DOJ Recusal
Attorneys wrote that Pirro and Blanche were both at the scene of the alleged incident and could be "purported victims or witnesses" in the case as they said government officials appear poised to make the case that Allen intended to harm administration officials during the alleged attack.
They added that Pirro had a long-standing friendship with Trump, and that the two "have spent Thanksgivings together and have traveled on his jet for weekends in Florida," creating further conflict of interest issues given the argument that Allen intended to harm Trump.
The lawyers wrote that the justice system had rules ensuring that prosecutors remained disinterested in the outcomes of cases and should not participate if conflict of interest could result in a loss of impartiality.
"Here, there is—at the very least—the appearance of partiality that necessitates the recusal of U.S. Attorney Pirro and Acting A.G. Blanche," Allen's attorneys wrote.
They continued, "Their active involvement in the prosecution of Mr. Allen therefore creates grave concerns about whether they are making prosecutorial decisions as representatives of the government or as witnesses."
"As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder—how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?" the lawyers continued. "Or even—how can one of the victim's closest friends prosecute the alleged perpetrator of the offense? Given U.S. Attorney Pirro's friendship with the President and her and Acting A.G. Blanche's attendance at the event at the center of this prosecution, the law necessitates their disqualification."
Who Is Cole Thomas Allen?
Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile, where he is described as a game developer, engineer, scientist and teacher. A resurfaced video shared on the X account National Chronicle (@NCNewsOnX) and elsewhere appears to show Allen as a Caltech student telling a TV reporter about a prototype for a wheelchair emergency brake he developed.
His LinkedIn profile said he had a 3.0 GPA and was a member of the Caltech Christian Fellowship and the Caltech Nerf Club.
Bin Tang, a professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills—where Allen received his master's degree in computer science, according to his LinkedIn profile—told the Associated Press that Allen took several of his classes.
"He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions," Tang said. "Soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news."
According to Federal Election Commission records, a single $25 contribution under Allen’s name was made through ActBlue, a fundraising platform, and earmarked for Harris for President in October 2024. Newsweek has not established that the donation was connected to the alleged attack or to Allen’s alleged motive.
Allen has yet to enter a plea regarding his charges. An arraignment is scheduled for May 11.
Correction 05/13/26, 10:27 a.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify that the $25 donation under Allen's name was made through ActBlue, a fundraising platform, to the Harris campaign, not to ActBlue.
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