Defendant in White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting charged with attempted assassination

( Just the News )

The California man accused of attempting to carry out a shooting this past weekend at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was charged Monday in a federal court in Washington, D.C., with attempting to assassinate President Trump. 

The defendant, Cole Allen, of Torrance, California, was also charged with transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, according to The Washington Post.

The 31-year-old Allen traveled late last week by train from his home in Southern California to the nation's capital, where he checked into a room at the Washington Hilton – prior to when the gala was being held there – along with the long-barreled gun he toted through a checkpoint before being apprehended by law enforcement outside the gala ballroom.

Allen on Monday did not enter a plea. He reportedly wrote a manifesto before the attack that suggested he intended to kill Trump and top officials in his administration – who attended the event along with hundreds of journalists, their guests and others.