US press gala shooting suspect charged with attempting to kill Trump

Prosecutor says Cole Tomas Allen 'attempted to assassinate the president of the United States' in Saturday attack.Federal authorities in the United States have charged the suspect who allegedly shot a US Secret Service agent as he tried to breach security at a press gala attended by Donald Trump with attempting to assassinate the US president.Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, also faces firearms charges in a three-count complaint, prosecutors announced on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Melania Trump blasts Kimmel, calls on ABC to ‘take stand’ against comedianlist 2 of 3Timeline: The highs and lows of the US-UK ‘special relationship’list 3 of 3What does the US dinner shooting mean for Trump?end of listIn the case of a conviction, the attempted assassination of Trump carries out a sentence of up to life in prison.Allen wore a blue prison jumpsuit at his first appearance in Washington, DC, federal court, two days after authorities said they foiled an attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an annual black-tie gathering of journalists and politicians in the US capital.“He attempted to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald J Trump,” prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said in court.Allen has not yet responded to the allegations. Seated at the defence table flanked by US Marshals, Allen said he would answer all questions truthfully and that he had a master’s degree in computer science.US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered Allen detained while the case moves forward. Sharbaugh scheduled another hearing over Allen’s continued detention for Thursday.Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, DC, said further charges could be filed against Allen as the investigation proceeds.“Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was – and that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could,” Pirro told reporters on Monday.