A buckshot pellet recovered from a Secret Service agent's bulletproof vest definitively ties suspect Cole Tomas Allen to the attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro detailed the evidence on CNN, asserting President Trump was the target. Allen faces multiple charges as the investigation continues.
Investigators found a buckshot pellet intertwined with the fibers of a Secret Service agent's bulletproof vest during the attack at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the discovery on CNN's State of the Union on May 3, 2026. The pellet came from suspect Cole Tomas Allen's Mossberg pump-action shotgun, Pirro said. “It is definitively his bullet,” she stated. Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired at the agent while the dinner was underway. He has been charged with attempted assassination, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and illegally transporting guns and ammunition across state lines. Pirro, who attended the dinner, rejected any suggestion of recusal from the case. “Absolutely not. I mean, there is no way … my ability to prosecute this case has nothing to do with my being there,” she told host Jake Tapper. She described Allen's actions, including phone tracking of the president's movements—such as “Is the president in the ballroom yet?”—and a manifesto where he called himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin.” “Clearly, the president is a target. And make no mistake, it is not just the manifesto. It is his actions,” Pirro said. “This guy thought he was Rambo.” Pirro emphasized Allen's background, noting he holds a master’s degree and worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, countering potential insanity defenses. “He is far from insane. He is brilliant,” she added. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press on May 3 that more charges and an indictment are expected soon. Allen's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
