STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Saturday's attack on the White House Correspondents' Association dinner offers another data point to evaluate the Secret Service. We will connect with a former deputy director of the agency in a few minutes. We begin with a court appearance expected today. It's for Cole Allen, the 31-year-old accused of trying to rush through security on his way toward the ballroom where the president was.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas has been covering this. So, Ryan, what do we know about the investigation?
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Look, this incident happened late Saturday night. So it is still very early in this investigation. But law enforcement here in Washington, D.C., and in southern California have been hard at work trying to collect evidence, put the pieces together. Much of what we know at this point comes from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows.
Blanche didn't identify the suspect. But as you said, NPR has confirmed the individual in custody is 31-year-old Cole Allen from Torrance, California. Now, Allen has not been cooperating with investigators. That's according to Blanche. But Blanche says authorities have been interviewing witnesses, people who know the suspect. And investigators also have executed search warrants at locations associated with him, and they've done the same thing on his electronic devices.
MARTÍNEZ: And have they found anything so far?
LUCAS: Well, Blanche says preliminary information indicates that Allen traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then from there on to Washington, D.C. He had a room at the Hilton Hotel where the Correspondents' dinner was taking place. He also had a shotgun, a handgun and knives on him when he tried to storm the ballroom. Blanche also said this on NBC's "Meet The Press."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MEET THE PRESS")
TODD BLANCHE: We believe that he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack. But that's, again, quite preliminary as law enforcement continues to go through all the evidence.
LUCAS: And that, of course, raises the all-important question of motive. Blanche says officials are still investigating, digging in on that to try to get an answer to the motive question. But, again, we're just 36 hours or so into this investigation, so it is early.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. But one thing that seems a little unusual, the president and the White House have been providing information on this investigation. So what have they said?
LUCAS: Right. A White House official told NPR that Allen's brother got in touch with law enforcement not long before the incident on Saturday, just minutes before it happened, in fact, and allegedly told them about a piece of writing that Allen had written and sent to family members. The official also said that Allen's sister had told law enforcement that Allen referenced a plan to, quote, unquote, "do something to fix the issues with today's world." Again, that's according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity. And then you also have the president sharing photos of the suspect on social media not long after this all happened on Saturday night.
This is all highly unusual, I have to say. Traditionally, particularly once there's a suspect in custody, which was immediate in this instance, prosecutors will speak in court and court filings. And that's pretty much it. Yes, after the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the 2024 campaign, if you think back to that, the FBI did give updates on what they were finding out in their investigation. But they were able to do that in large part because the gunman there was dead, so they were not trying to build a case to prosecute in court. And here, of course, prosecutors will do that with the suspected gunman here.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Now, what happens now?
LUCAS: Well, investigators are continuing to interview witnesses and people who knew Allen. They'll be building a profile. They'll be trying to trace his actions, his footsteps, so to speak, in the weeks, days, and of course, hours leading up to what happened on Saturday night. So far, officials say they believe Allen acted alone. They don't see any sort of foreign involvement, foreign nexus here.
Now, Justice Department officials have said that Allen will face charges. As of now, those will be - the initial ones are expected to be assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm in a crime of violence. They also expect to add more down the line. Allen is expected to appear in federal court in D.C. today, so we may learn more then.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas. Ryan, thanks.
LUCAS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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