Correspondents’ dinner shooting suspect pleads not guilty

Cole Tomas Allen, the man suspected of firing shots outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, entered a not-guilty plea in a Washington, D.C., federal court Monday. Allen is accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, who attended the dinner. He also faces charges of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, along with two firearms charges.

Allen is considered legally innocent until proven guilty in court. The attempted assassination charge alone carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the other charges could be punishable by 10 or more years in prison.

What else happened in court? Allen was handcuffed and shackled and didn’t speak during the hearing, according to the Associated Press. He was recently removed from suicide watch at the D.C. jail, according to court documents. His legal team is seeking to remove acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro from the prosecution due to an alleged conflict of interest, since they were both attendees at the dinner.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report on the suspect’s manifesto.