Suspect in D.C. shooting held in "safe cell," agrees to remain jailed ahead of trial

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Washington — The suspect successful the play shooting astatine the White House Correspondents' Dinner has agreed to stay detained successful the lead-up to his trial.

During a proceeding earlier U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, a lawyer for the suspected gunman, Cole Allen, told the justice that helium volition not contention the government's effort to support him successful national custody.

Allen, 31, is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump and 2 firearms-related offenses stemming from the shooting extracurricular the yearly property gala connected Saturday. He made his archetypal quality successful national tribunal Monday.

Allen has not yet entered a plea to the charges. A preliminary proceeding is acceptable for May 11.

Tezira Abe, a lawyer for Allen, told the tribunal that helium is being held successful a "safe cell" nether 24-hour lockdown, and she asked the justice to bid the jailhouse to assistance those restrictions. The justice said portion she would judge briefs connected the matter, she did not person the authorization to override the judgement of the jail.

Allen was escorted into the courtroom by 3 U.S. Marshals soon aft the proceeding convened and was wearing a short-sleeve, orangish jumpsuit. He has a goatee beard and short, curvy hair. Allen did not look astatine oregon code those successful attendance.

Prosecutors had urged the court to order Allen detained pending a transgression trial, penning successful a filing Wednesday that the crimes helium is charged with are "among the astir superior successful the United States code, and the grounds of his guilt is overwhelming."

They said that Allen engaged successful "extensive planning" for the onslaught and laid retired a much elaborate timeline of his movements and actions successful the run-up to the dinner. Prosecutors besides revealed successful their filing a photograph that they said Allen took of himself successful the reflector of his edifice room, which showed him successful a achromatic formal shirt, achromatic pants and what appears to beryllium a reddish tie.

In the image, Allen besides appears to beryllium equipped with a sheathed knife, pliers, ligament cutters and a tiny leather container that looks similar 1 filled with ammunition that was recovered from the scene, according to the filing.

Law enforcement officials said Allen, holding a shotgun, rushed a information checkpoint connected the terrace level extracurricular the meal Saturday. Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance and galore Cabinet officials were successful attendance alongside scores of journalists, media executives and members of Congress.

A U.S. Secret Service serviceman "observed the suspect occurrence the shotgun successful the absorption of the stairs starring down to the ballroom," prosecutors said successful their memorandum, and the serviceman fired 5 times astatine the defendant.

Allen fell to the ground, but was not deed by gunfire, and was apprehended by authorities, according to instrumentality enforcement. The Secret Service officer, identified arsenic Officer V.G. successful a FBI affidavit, was shot successful his bulletproof vest and was not earnestly injured, according to tribunal papers. The filing did not accidental who fired the changeable that deed the officer.

Senior instrumentality enforcement officials told CBS News connected Wednesday that the circular that struck the Secret Service serviceman was not affable fire. Two sources acquainted with the probe said the changeable that deed the serviceman apt struck a cellphone tucked into the pouch of the bulletproof vest.

Ahead of the hearing, Allen's lawyers had argued that helium should beryllium released up of a proceedings and told the tribunal successful a filing Wednesday that helium has nary transgression past and is college-educated. They said helium was "gainfully employed" arsenic a tutor, is simply a "devout Christian" who "dutifully" attends religion and is an "active participant" successful his spiritual community. Those factors, they said, measurement successful favour of release.

But during the proceeding, Abe, Allen's lawyer, said that aft gathering with him, helium agreed to stay detained.

In their filing, though, the defence lawyers had pushed backmost connected the Justice Department's assertion that Allen was consenting to perpetrate a "mass shooting" and said that assertion was not supported by the facts. Allen, they wrote, allegedly told household and friends successful a letter sent conscionable earlier the onslaught that helium wanted to "minimize casualties" by utilizing "buckshot."

"Moreover, the authorities aft fundamentally asserting that Mr. Allen changeable a Secret Service Officer successful the transgression complaint, has seemingly retreated from the mentation by not mentioning the alleged serviceman astatine each successful its memorandum," Allen's lawyers said of Officer V.G. "In sum, the government's full statement astir the quality and circumstances of the discourtesy is based upon inferences drawn astir Mr. Allen's intent that rise much questions than answers."

The defence attorneys further told the tribunal that portion Allen has been charged with attempting to termination Mr. Trump, the missive sent to his household and friends does not notation the president by name.

"The government's grounds of the charged discourtesy — the attempted assassination of the president — is frankincense built wholly upon speculation, adjacent nether the astir generous speechmaking of its theory," they said. "While the authorities whitethorn beryllium capable to accidental that the missive expresses an intent to people medication officials, it falls good abbreviated of narrowing those officials to President Trump."

In a letter to Allen's lawyers Wednesday, prosecutors said that the probe into the shooting is ongoing and an investigation of crime-scene grounds and ballistics grounds is not yet finished. They said that grounds shows that Allen fired his pump-action shotgun astatine slightest 1 clip arsenic helium ran past the magnetometers extracurricular the lawsuit Saturday night.

Ballistics and video analyses amusement that Allen fired his shotgun "in the direction" of the Secret Service officer, prosecutors wrote.

"The authorities is alert of nary carnal evidence, integer video evidence, oregon witnesser statements that are inconsistent with the mentation that your lawsuit fired his shotgun successful the absorption of Officer V.G., oregon that Officer V.G. was so changeable erstwhile successful the thorax portion wearing a ballistic vest," they said.

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