Shaimaa Khalil
Reporting from federal court in Washington

Cole Allen, dressed in a blue jump suit with a name tag, appeared quite calm and soft spoken. He answered almost every question from the judge with either "yes your honour" or "no your honour".

He was asked about his age, he said "31". The judge asked him how far he got in school, "a masters degree," he said.

Allen appeared to observe what was happening around him closely. He looked directly at the judge when he asked Cole questions.

There were four US Marshalls in the room. Three were behind Allen and one was to his side.

Washington DC Attorney General Jeanine Pirro was also in the courtroom.

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Reporting from federal court in Washington

During the hearing, Prosecutor Ballantine asked the judge to order Allen to remain detained because he is being charged with terrorism offences.

While none of the charges directly mention terrorism, we understand that attempting to assassinate the president can be charged as domestic terrorism.

Under US law, it also carries the potential sentence of life in prison.

A detention hearing will take place on Thursday.

Shaimaa Khalil
Reporting from federal court in Washington

The next hearing for suspected shooter Cole Tomas Allen will be on Thursday. That will be a detention hearing, which will determine whether Allen should continue to be detained up until his trial.

Here is a closer look at the charges he is facing and the sentences they could carry:

• First Charge: Attempt to assassinate the president of the United States. If found guilty, this could carry a sentence of up to life in a federal prison.
• Second Charge: Transportation of firearm interstate to commit a felony. If found guilty on this charge, he will face up to 10 years in a federal prison.
• Third Charge: Discharge of firearm in a crime of violence. If found guilty on this charge, he will face up to 10 years in a federal prison.

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Reporting from federal court in Washington

Federal prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine says Allen crossed multiple state lines in an attempt to assassinate the president of the United States.

Allen allegedly had a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun, a 38 caliber semi automatic gun, three knives and other weapons.

A detention hearing is set for Thursday at 11:00 ET (16:00 BST). And a preliminary hearing is set for 11 May at 13:30 ET (18:30 BST).

Allen did not enter a plea to the charges.

And with that the hearing ends.

The judge has read out all of the charges against Allen.

They are:

• Attempt to assassinate the President of the United States
• Using a firearm during a crime of violence

• Transportation of firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Reporting from federal court in Washington

After Cole Tomas Allen is informed of his rights, including his right to remain silent and the right to a preliminary hearing, he is asked if he understands the charges. "Yes, your honour," he answers.

Now we are hearing his charges.

They include one charge that we hadn't heard about earlier: the attempted assassination of the President of the United States.

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Reporting from the federal courthouse in Washington

Court is now in session and on screen from the overflow room I can see suspect Cole Tomas Allen.

He is wearing all blue prison clothes and has just been sworn in, raising his left hand

The judge asks him to state his name and his age. Then he is asked how far he went in school.

“Masters degree,” he responds.

Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh reads out his right to an attorney.

Public defenders Tezira Abe and Eugene Ohm have been appointed to him.

Image source, Reuters

President Trump has just taken to social media to criticise late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, accusing him of using his programme to make a "call to violence".

"Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking," begins his post on Truth Social.

He quoted the joke Kimmel made, in which he said First Lady Melania Trump had "the glow of an expectant widow".

"A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives," Trump says, adding that the suspect "was there for a very obvious and sinister reason".

He calls for Kimmel to be "immediately fired" from Disney and ABC.

The post comes after Melania Trump accused Kimmel of using "hateful and violence rhetoric" in his joke about her.

Kimmel has not made a public statement since the latest criticism from the White House. The BBC has contacted ABC for comment.

Shaimaa Khalil
Reporting from the federal courthouse in Washington

Image source, BBC/Shaimaa Khalil

I’m standing outside the courthouse where Cole Tomas Allen is scheduled to make his first appearance.

There are about two dozen or more journalists all lining up to secure a spot in the courtroom. There’s a lot of chatter about what to expect, what to look out for, and whether Allen will enter a plea today.

We’re looking out for more information about the events that led up to what happened at the White House Correspondent's Dinner on Saturday night.

Those details could potentially come out when the charging documents are unsealed - or when the charges are being levelled against him.

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Reporting from the federal courthouse in Washington

Electronics are not allowed inside the federal courtroom here in Washington DC, so I am in a different room with other journalists where electronics are permitted. Although photos and recordings are still off-limits.

We have a live video feed from the courtroom where the suspect in Saturday's incident, Cole Tomas Allen, will appear shortly.

This room is where journalists can watch the proceedings and report in real time.

I can see officials checking microphones and screens, and we are expecting the hearing to begin soon.

Security protocols are being reviewed for events away from the White House campus, Leavitt says. She adds that the Secret Service keeps specific details of its plans private for security reasons.

She is asked about the prospect of having a "designated survivor" - a cabinet member in the line of succession that skips major events in case of catastrophe.

Leavitt notes that several cabinet members were not present and so it was not deemed necessary to nominate one individual to be a designated survivor at Saturday's dinner.

And with that, the press briefing has ended.

Image source, Reuters

Trump has insisted that the White House Correspondents Dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days.

Leavitt is asked where that might take place, and if Vice President JD Vance would attend given potential safety threats to the "presidential line of succession".

Trump plans to attend the rescheduled dinner, Leavitt says, but adds that she's unsure about Vance's attendance.

The press secretary says she is not sure where it might take place, and it underscores the need for a ballroom at the presidential residence.

"The White House ballroom project is not just a fun project for President Trump like you will read in the media," she says. "It is actually critical for our national security."

Leavitt says the shooting serves as reminder of how important it is for Congress to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service.

"This is a national emergency, and every member of Congress needs to put their country over party and get the Department of Homeland Security funded," she says.

Funding for the department has been stalled by Democrats, who have called for reforms to immigration agencies in the wake of two deadly shootings by the agencies' operatives in the state of Minnesota.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Speaking in the briefing room, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has raised the spectre of rising political violence in the US - and blamed rhetoric from President Trump's detractors for the shooting at the White House Correspondent's Dinner.

According to Leavitt, the shooting - the third attempt on Trump's life in as many years - is the result of "systemic" criticism about President Trump over an 11-year-time frame from Democrats, and members of the media.

We've heard similar comments from those close to Trump, and the president himself, before.

This was the case, for example, after the wake of the attempted assassination in Butler Pennsylvania in July 2024, when some close to Trump said they believed the labelling of Trump by some as a "fascist" helped lead to it.

At the outset of the briefing, Leavitt seemed to be attempting to "lower the temperature" by calling on Americans to settle their many differences amicably, and without violence.

But critics of the administration will almost certainly point to her comments as laying the blame on Trump's political opponents, and on the media.

Many Democrats, it should be noted, accuse Trump and the administration of being responsible for similarly divisive rhetoric.

We disagree often, Leavitt tells the press, but she says those disagreements should be resolved with dialogue and "not bullets".

“Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets and more violence than President Trump," she says.

Leavitt says that this "political violence stems from a systemic demonisation of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party and even some in the media".

She names late night television host Jimmy Kimmel, over a joke in which he called Melania Trump an "expectant widow" just days before a shooting incident.

The First Lady has urged Kimmel's broadcaster ABC to take action against his "atrocious behavior".

Leavitt says she had not planned to give another briefing before she goes on maternity leave, but says that this changed with Saturday night's events.

She says the president wishes to express his gratitude to all the security services, including the agent who took a bullet to his bulletproof vest.

Leavitt says the president was "satisfied" with the security response to Saturday's incident.

Trump had wanted the dinner to continue, she adds.

She also says that this incident was the third "major assassination attempt" of Trump in two years.

Image source, US Pool

Karoline Leavitt starts the briefing with remarks on the investigation into the White House press dinner shooting.

We will bring you some of her comments shortly, and you can watch live at the top of this page.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is about to speak at a press briefing.

We've just heard the two-minute warning that it is about to begin.

We'll bring you all the major updates here, and you can also watch live at the top of this page.

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a news conference at 13:00 ET (18:00 BST)
• Cole Thomas Allen, 31, is due to appear in court in Washington DC to hear the formal charges read against him relating to Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ dinner
• A Department of Justice news conference is expected afterwards
• Amid intense scrutiny of security arrangements, King Charles and Queen Camilla are welcomed to the US - the first official state visit by a reigning monarch in almost 20 years

Image source, Getty Images

Although the motive of the alleged gunman is not yet clear, there have been numerous cases of violence directed at other US political figures in recent years.

• In October 2022, a man broke into the California home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband, Paul, with a hammer. David DePape had asked for Pelosi, who was not at home at the time
• In June 2025, Democratic senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded in Minnesota - the couple were hit by 17 bullets
• Hours later, Democratic politician Melissa Hortman and her husband Paul were killed in a shooting in Minnesota after also being targeted at their home. Vance Luther Boelter was the suspect in both cases
• In September the same year, Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of President Trump and prominent right-wing commentator, was shot and killed during an event in Utah