Cole Allen signed his pre-attack email ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ and ranked every target highest to lowest, but one name was deliberately left off

A 31-year-old California man is now facing federal charges for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump following a violent incident at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026. As detailed by the Washington Post, Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was charged in court on Monday, April 27, 2026. If convicted, he faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a potential life sentence.

Court records and an FBI affidavit reveal the extent of Allen’s planning. He booked a room at the Washington Hilton on April 6, 2026, for a three-night stay, then departed the Los Angeles area on April 21, 2026, traveling by train through Chicago before arriving in Washington, D.C., at approximately 1:00 PM on April 24, 2026.

Minutes before the shooting at approximately 8:40 PM, Allen sent a scheduled email to family members and a former employer. The email ranked administration officials as targets from highest-ranking to lowest, with one notable exception: “Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” in an apparent reference to FBI Director Kash Patel. Allen signed the email “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen.” The affidavit noted that Secret Service personnel were considered targets only if necessary, and Allen expressed a preference that they be incapacitated nonlethally if possible. He closed the email with his “sincerest apologies for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

He got through the magnetometer with a shotgun, and officers were wearing vests

During the incident, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the hotel and ran through a magnetometer carrying a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. A Secret Service officer wearing a bulletproof vest was struck in the chest. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the officer fired five shots in return, though none hit Allen. Allen suffered minor injuries and was arrested. Officials are still working to confirm the origin of the round that struck the officer, as a casing remained inside the shotgun and had not been ejected. “We want to get that right. We’re still looking at that,” Blanche said.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine confirmed in court that Allen was also carrying a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and three knives. Records show he purchased the pistol in October 2023 and the shotgun in August 2025 from dealers in California. Patel, whose name Allen had deliberately excluded from his target list, has been facing separate scrutiny over his conduct as FBI director in recent weeks.

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro addressed the incident directly at a press conference. “Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was,” Pirro said, adding that Allen intended to target as many high-ranking Cabinet officials as possible. Acting Attorney General Blanche noted that Allen was stopped one floor above the ballroom where the President and other officials were gathered, stating that law enforcement “did exactly what they are trained to do.” The incident came at a moment of heightened attention on administration security, amid reports of Cabinet officials facing scrutiny over their decision-making in the same week.

Allen appeared in court on Monday, April 27, 2026, wearing blue prisoner fatigues and did not enter a plea. His public defender, Tezira Abe, noted that he has no prior arrests or convictions. His next hearing is set for Thursday, April 30, 2026, and federal officials have indicated that additional charges are likely.