Cole Tomas Allen was taken into custody after the shooting on Saturday night and was charged in federal court in Washington. Authorities say an officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest but is expected to recover.
Allen, of Torrance, California, is being represented by lawyers with the federal defender's office and sat beside them in court in a blue jail uniform. He also was charged with transport of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce and with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He did not enter a plea.
The judge assigned two assistant public defenders to represent Allen. One of them, Tezira Abe, noted that Allen doesn’t have a criminal record and “is presumed innocent at this time.”
Prosecutors have not revealed a motive, but in a message reviewed by The Associated Press that authorities say was sent by Allen to family members minutes before the attack, Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin,” made repeated references to the Republican president without naming him and alluded to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions.
Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.
