September 2027 Trial Date Set for Cole Allen, Charged With Trying to Kill President Trump at Correspondents Dinner

Cole Tomas Allen will go on trial in September 2027 for the April attack at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, October 29, 2026. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden set the date at a status conference in Washington, with jury selection scheduled to begin on Sept. 7, 2027.

The trial is expected to last approximately three to four weeks. Prosecutors had recommended a start in May 2027, and the government had its date ready when the case came before the court. Judge McFadden chose the later September date after one of Allen's attorneys asked for more time to prepare the defense, and the court set the schedule on that basis.

The April 25 attack at the Washington Hilton

Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is accused of storming the dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel on April 25, 2026, while armed with guns and knives. Authorities say Allen fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the attack inside the hotel.

The officer was struck once in a bullet resistant vest. The officer fired five shots in response and did not hit anybody, authorities said. Allen was injured in the incident, but his injury did not come from gunfire.

The attack brought the dinner to an early end that night. President Donald Trump later returned to speak at the rescheduled dinner, which was held three months after the April event.

The charges and the plea

Allen was indicted on May 5, 2026, on four federal charges. The charges include attempting to assassinate the president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and two additional firearms counts.

The attempted assassination charge carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. Allen pleaded not guilty to all four charges in May, soon after the indictment, and he remains in custody while the case moves toward trial. The charges are allegations set out by prosecutors, and the plea entered in court is a plea of not guilty.

Authorities said Allen referred to himself in writings he sent to relatives before the attack by the words "Friendly Federal Assassin." The Associated Press reported that, in those writings, Allen railed against Trump administration policies.

Discovery and the road to trial

Prosecutors said they will produce thousands of pages of material and gigabytes of data in discovery, the formal exchange of evidence before trial. They also said there is video evidence tracking Allen from California to Washington ahead of the April attack.

Because of that extensive discovery, both parties and the court agreed to toll the speedy trial clock by 45 days. The volume of evidence, together with the defense request for more preparation time, is what pushed the start from the May 2027 date prosecutors proposed to the September 2027 date the judge set.

When jury selection opens on Sept. 7, 2027, in Washington, the case will test the charges in open court for the first time. Until then, Allen stays in custody, the defense prepares against a large body of evidence, and the schedule Judge McFadden set on October 29 governs the case.