Judge McFadden orders jury selection for White House dinner suspect to begin in September 2027

Jury selection for the trial of Cole Tomas Allen begins on September 7, 2027, according to a schedule set by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden on Thursday. The federal court in Washington, D.C., expects the proceedings to last between three and four weeks.

Prosecutors originally sought a start date in May 2027. Judge McFadden moved the trial to the later date after one of Allen’s attorneys requested additional preparation time. Allen, a resident of Torrance, California, is accused of attempting to kill President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The incident occurred on April 25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton hotel. Authorities state that Allen entered the venue armed with guns and knives. He fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who attempted to stop him. The officer was struck once in a bullet-resistant vest and returned fire with five shots, missing all targets. Allen was injured during the event, though not by gunfire.

The attack forced an early end to the annual dinner. President Trump returned to the venue three months later to speak at a rescheduled event. Before the April incident, Allen sent writings to relatives in which he criticized Trump administration policies. In those documents, he referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin.”

Allen faces an attempted assassination charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is also charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.