STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A court hearing gave evidence of the extended planning that went into an alleged assassination attempt in Washington.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Prosecutors charged Cole Allen, the man tackled Saturday night on his way into the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In a few moments, we'll discuss all of this with former Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem. We begin with the facts.
INSKEEP: NPR's Jaclyn Diaz is with us. Good morning.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: OK. So how did this court appearance go?
DIAZ: Well, the whole thing was over pretty quickly. It lasted about 10 to 15 minutes and was pretty routine, you know, as these things go. The public heard for the first time the official charges against Allen, and they include an attempt to assassinate President Trump, the transportation of a firearm across state lines with the intent to commit a felony, and the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. All of these together could land Allen in prison for life. He did not speak much during the hearing. He was dressed in a blue prison outfit and answered the judge's questions but otherwise stayed pretty quiet. Allen's next hearing is on Thursday, and until then, he is being held without bond.
INSKEEP: OK. So what was his motive?
DIAZ: So the court documents unsealed yesterday shed some light on that. And to take a step back, in early March, President Trump announced he'd be going to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and prosecutors allege that about a month later, Allen booked a room at the Washington Hilton for that weekend. Prosecutors say Allen traveled from his home in California to Chicago and then on to D.C. via Amtrak train. And they allege he was traveling with at least two guns. On the night of the dinner, prosecutors say that minutes before he left his hotel room to allegedly carry out his plan, he sent an email to family and friends.
INSKEEP: Right.
DIAZ: And in that email, prosecutors say he lays out his reasoning for the planned attack. The letter says that he did not want to be represented by someone who he called, quote, "a pedophile, rapist and traitor." Presumably, that is referring to President Trump. He also writes that his targets for the evening were administration officials. He writes, "prioritized from highest ranking to lowest," and that's a direct quote.
INSKEEP: Yeah. Trump was read that line about being a pedophile on CBS and took offense to it on Sunday night. Now, did the Justice Department say anything about how the suspect managed to get as far as he did get?
DIAZ: Well, a video released of the incident shows Allen managed to run really fast about 60 yards past Secret Service agents and a security checkpoint before being taken down by agents. And on that, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche strongly defended the Secret Service during a DOJ press conference yesterday afternoon. He said the fact that Allen was stopped shows the system worked.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
TODD BLANCHE: Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they are trained to do. I want to make this clear. This man was a floor above the ballroom with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president of the United States.
DIAZ: There does seem to be one thing that might change. As you might know, Trump has talked about rescheduling the dinner. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing yesterday that officials are now considering whether to leave Vice President JD Vance at home if that happens, since he is first in line to the White House.
INSKEEP: Not putting the whole line of succession in one place. Jaclyn, thanks so much.
DIAZ: Thank you.
INSKEEP: That's NPR's Jaclyn Diaz. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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