Prosecutors have released a new selfie they say WHCA dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen snapped roughly 30 minutes before he allegedly tried to force his way through security armed with two firearms and multiple knives at the Washington Hilton.
Allen, 31, appears in the photo smirking in a hotel-room mirror, wearing a shirt and tie with weapons, ammunition and blades strapped to his body, according to court papers filed by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C.
“At approximately 8:03 p.m., while back inside his hotel room, the defendant used his cellphone to take a photograph of himself in the mirror,” prosecutors wrote in a motion seeking pretrial detention.
Investigators say the selfie was part of a tight, minute-by-minute lead-up to the attack that threw the White House Correspondents’ Dinner into panic and forced President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other top officials to be rushed from the event.
Prosecutors say Allen’s next moves followed quickly.
Cole Allen in his hotel room. – Screenshot
“The defendant’s prescheduled emails with the ‘Apology and Explanation’ attachment were sent a few minutes later, at approximately 8:30 p.m.,” they wrote. “Shortly thereafter, the defendant rushed the screening checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the Washington Hilton with a raised shotgun.”
🚨 NOW: Prosecutors have RELEASED new photos of leftist attempted Trump assassin Cole Allen taking mirror pics just minutes before trying to take out our president
The deranged man indoctrinated by leftist propaganda at 8:03PM took THESE photos in his hotel room prepping the… pic.twitter.com/fQIU65roZT
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 29, 2026
The newly released photo is now among the evidence the government is using to argue Allen should remain behind bars as the case moves forward.
Allen was arraigned Monday and faces three criminal counts, including a charge of attempting to assassinate the president, prosecutors said.
Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>
