Suspect in White House Correspondents' Association Dinner shooting charged with attempted assassination

Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting Saturday night at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Monday, Allen made his first court appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since the shooting.

He was charged with three criminal counts, namely, attempting to assassinate the president, interstate transportation of weapons, and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime.

The prosecutor said Allen had a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a .38 caliber pistol, and was also carrying with him three knives and other dangerous paraphernalia when he was arrested, CNBC reported.

According to law enforcement authorities, Allen, 31, traveled from California to Washington, D.C. by train and checked into the Washington Hilton hotel with weapons before the attack.

Allen reportedly sent an email to his relatives shortly before the shooting, in which he wrote that Trump administration officials were "targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest."

He also wrote: "I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat."

Live footage of the event showed that the suspect attempted to rush a security checkpoint and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement. A U.S. Secret Service officer was injured amid the shooting incident.

Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and all Cabinet members were evacuated from the dinner after the shooting. Attendees were seen on the live broadcast ducking around their tables and taking cover.

Shortly after the security incident, U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi wrote on X that the agency was investigating "a shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area" at the dinner, in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department.

Political violence has been frequent in the U.S. in recent years. Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts and death threats during his presidential campaign and as president. The most prominent example is the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which Trump narrowly survived while campaigning for president.

Suspect in White House Correspondents' Association Dinner shooting charged with attempted assassination

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday with the S and P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index closing at record highs as investors assessed a reported Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13 percent to 49,167.79. The S and P 500 added 0.12 percent to 7,173.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.2 percent to 24,887.1.

Eight of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer staples and real estate leading the laggards by dropping 1.18 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively. Communication services and financials led the gainers by rising 0.94 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.

According to an Axios report, Iran offered the United States a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the conflict, while suggesting that nuclear talks be deferred.

However, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei stated that no meeting between Tehran and Washington is currently planned.

Oil prices rose, as the West Texas Intermediate for June delivery went up 2.09 percent to settle at 96.37 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery added 2.75 percent to settle at 108.23 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Microsoft was little changed after the company announced it would no longer have exclusive access to OpenAI's technology lineup, and a related revenue-sharing agreement was also set to end.

Market attention is now turning to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which starts Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged amid the uncertainty caused by the Iran conflict and its potential inflationary effects.

The upcoming meeting is expected to be Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's penultimate one before the leadership transition to Kevin Warsh, who will face a crucial Senate confirmation vote in the near term.

U.S. stocks little changed as investors weigh Iran proposal