Shotgun at Trump's Dinner: Suspect Pleads Not Guilty, Demands Prosecutors Out

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, didn't say a word Monday in U.S. District Court. He didn't have to. His lawyers did the talking — and their opening move wasn't about innocence. It was about dismantling the prosecution before it starts.

Allen allegedly stormed the Washington Hilton on April 25 armed with a shotgun and knives during one of Washington's highest-profile annual gatherings. He allegedly breached a security checkpoint and fired buckshot at a Secret Service officer protecting President Trump. The officer — wearing a bullet-resistant vest — survived. He returned fire. Five shots. All missed.

Allen was injured, though not by gunfire. He now faces attempted assassination of a president, assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, and two firearms counts.

**That's the case. Here's the game.**

Defense attorney Eugene Ohm immediately moved to recuse Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro — because both were present at the Washington Hilton when Allen allegedly pulled the trigger. The argument: they aren't just prosecutors in this case. They're potential crime victims. And you can't be both.

Ohm went further. The defense floated disqualifying Pirro's entire office and floated the appointment of a special prosecutor. The whole DOJ apparatus, potentially sidelined on a procedural argument.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden — a Trump nominee who knows exactly what he's looking at — didn't play along quietly. When Ohm floated the full DOJ disqualification, McFadden called it "quite a request." He gave prosecutors until May 22 to respond in writing and ordered them to clarify whether Blanche and Pirro legally qualify as crime victims under applicable statute.

**That single legal question could reshape this entire prosecution.**

If the answer is yes — they're crime victims — the recusal argument gains real traction. If the answer is no, the defense's procedural strategy collapses early and the case moves on substance. Either way, May 22 is the first domino.

The next scheduled hearing is June 29, where McFadden could rule on whether Pirro's office stays on the case or gets pushed out entirely.

Here's what you need to understand: a man allegedly brought a shotgun to an event the President of the United States attended, fired on a federal officer protecting him, and his defense team's first move is to run a process play — not argue the facts. That tells you everything about how they see their hand.

**Watch May 22. Watch June 29.** The defense is betting the courthouse, not the courtroom, is where this case gets won or lost.