US adds officer-assault charge following WHCA shooting

Cole Allen
Prosecutors allege Cole Allen was armed when he sprinted past security at a Washington DC hotel. -AP

The ‌US Justice Department has added a charge ‌of assault on a federal officer with a ‌deadly weapon to the case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at ‌the Washington ‌Hilton ⁠last month.

The new charge, which formally ​accuses the suspect, Cole Allen, of firing at a US Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint, is part of a new four-count ⁠indictment returned ‌by ​a federal grand jury in Washington DC. 

The other ​three counts ‌are charges Allen previously faced including attempted assassination, discharge ​of a firearm during a crime of violence and illegal transportation of a ​firearm ​and ammunition ​across state lines.

Prosecutors allege that ‌Allen, 31, of California, was armed with a shotgun and a pistol when he sprinted past security in an attempt to assassinate ​Trump and other US officials on ​April 25.