WASHINGTON — Top Department of Justice officials should not be involved in prosecuting White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman Cole Allen — because they were the very targets he was allegedly trying to kill, Allen’s lawyers claimed Monday.
Cole’s attorneys argued that the attack’s occurrence during the annual black-tie gala on April 25 — which hosted several Trump cabinet officials in addition to the president — should force the recusal of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who were both at the event.
“It’s wholly inappropriate,” for Pirro or Blanche to “be making the primary prosecutorial decisions in the case,” defense lawyer Eugene Ohm claimed.
Accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Allen pleaded not guilty at a Monday hearing.
A still image from surveillance video shows Allen running through a hotel security checkpoint and the shooting that unfolded with uniformed police officers and US Secret Service agents during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC. US Attorney for the District of Colombia/AFP via Getty ImagesOhm also noted Pirro’s longstanding “close” relationship with Trump.
Allen, 31, pleaded not guilty at a Monday hearing in DC federal court to charges including attempting to assassinate President Trump. He is also charged with assault on law enforcement, transporting a firearm across state lines to commit a felony, and discharging a weapon during a crime of violence.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
In a May 7 court filing, defense lawyers wrote that Blanche and Pirro “were potential victims and targets in what they have described as an attempted ‘mass shooting.'”
US District Judge Trevor McFadden pressed the defense in court Monday on how extensive that recusal would be, telling Assistant DC US Attorney Charles Jones that it “sounds like you’d be out too,” should the defense succeed in its motion.
Allen’s defense team indicated that Pirro’s “supervisory” role should disqualify her entire office from prosecuting Allen, while suggesting that the “structural appearance of impropriety” of Blanche overseeing the case should force his recusal as well.
Cole Tomas Allen, second from right, listening as his attorney Eugene Ohm, left, speaks to U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Washington. AP
Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting, sits in the courtroom during a hearing after being charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump. REUTERSFormer federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said the defense argument was a “Hail Mary” that was “highly unlikely” to succeed.
Allen’s lawyers had previously claimed the alleged gunman wasn’t carrying “an automatic or even semi-automatic weapon,” meaning prosecutors couldn’t claim he was prepared to carry out a “mass shooting.”
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Donald Pearsall / NY Post DesignThey had also claimed there was no evidence in a manifesto that Cole allegedly sent right before the attack, specifically mentioning an intent to assassinate Trump.
“While the government may be able to say that the letter expresses an intent to target administration officials, it falls well short of narrowing those officials to President Trump,” the attorneys alleged in an April 30 filing.
Screen grab from a video showing Cole Allen running through a hotel security checkpoint. U.S. Attorney Jeanine PirroRahmani said that the defense team was “talking out of both sides of their mouth.”
“If Pirro was a target, she would potentially be a victim and then the chance of her being disqualified would increase significantly,” he noted. “But obviously the defense doesn’t want the government to add additional charges.”
While Allen’s defense lawyers have quoted from Blanche and Pirro’s public remarks in filings, Rahmani added that “having a press conference isn’t a basis for disqualification.”
This image showed Cole Allen took of himself in a mirror at approximately 8:03 pm ET while in his hotel room at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2026, according to the memorandum. US Attorney for the District of Colombia/AFP via Getty Images“You have to be a necessary and material witness: I don’t think Blanche or Pirro even saw anything,” added, noting that Allen “didn’t make it into the ballroom.”
The former Torrance, Calif., teacher had been kept on suicide watch until last week for potentially posing a danger to himself — and entered the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit with his arms and legs shackled before approaching the bench to enter his plea before McFadden.
Allen’s defense team has so far not contested his detention ahead of trial.
President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after the shooting at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington. APAllen’s defense team has so far not contested his detention ahead of trial.
Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui apologized to Allen during a May 4 hearing for being forced into the 24-hour lockdown following the shooting, prompting Pirro to blast the jurist for “preferential treatment.”
Pirro’s “emotional response was inflammatory, inappropriate, and inaccurate” showing “the depths of her personal interest in this case,” wrote Allen’s lawyers in their motion to disqualify her and her office.
Prosecutors in the DC office must respond to the disqualification motion by May 22, while a reply from Allen’s defense attorneys is due May 29, McFadden ruled.
The next pre-trial hearing is set for June 29.
