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  "path": "/news/whca-dinner-shooting-suspect-cole-allen-due-court-monday",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-11T11:05:58.000Z",
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    "Cole Allen returns to court Monday",
    "Cole Allen returns to court Monday as defense seeks to disqualify officials",
    "Grand jury indicts WHCD shooting suspect on 4 counts"
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  "textContent": "Cole Allen, the California man accused of trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and attempting to kill President Donald Trump, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday as his attorneys move to disqualify top Justice Department officials from the case. They argue those officials could be considered victims or witnesses, creating a potential conflict of interest.\n\nFOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick reports that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.\n\n**READ MORE:** Cole Allen returns to court Monday\n\nIn a filing last week, Allen’s attorneys said the involvement of Blanche and Pirro creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest. Defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe, both assistant federal public defenders, suggested that a special prosecutor may be necessary. They urged U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to the case, to bar Blanche, Pirro and possibly other Justice Department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.\n\nLast week, Allen and his attorneys also told the court he was being mistreated in the D.C. jail and placed on suicide watch without justification. The judge said he was troubled by the reported conditions, which included restraints, constant lighting and repeated strip searches.\n\n**RELATED:** Cole Allen returns to court Monday as defense seeks to disqualify officials\n\nProsecutors argued the precautions were necessary because Allen told investigators the night of the shooting that he did not expect to survive. He is no longer on suicide watch.\n\nPirro said her office will respond to the defense arguments in a filing.\n\nAllen is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, a longtime friend of Pirro, along with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two firearms counts. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.\n\n**READ MORE:** Grand jury indicts WHCD shooting suspect on 4 counts\n\nThe Secret Service officer who was struck once in a bullet‑resistant vest fired five shots in return but did not hit anyone. Allen was injured during the incident but was not shot.\n\nThe arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m.",
  "title": "WHCA Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen due in court Monday"
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