Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, appeared Monday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to face federal charges stemming from Saturday night’s armed assault on a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered Allen held pending a detention hearing Thursday. The suspect, who appeared on a criminal complaint rather than an indictment, was not asked to enter a plea. He faces three federal counts: attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm in interstate commerce, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. Allen, 31, is a Caltech-trained mechanical engineer with a recent master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills who tutored part-time at a Torrance test-prep company and built indie video games on the side, according to a WIRED review of public databases, which revealed a minimal online presence. The Metropolitan Police Department claims that the suspect approached a Secret Service checkpoint at the Hilton on Saturday night armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. Agents intercepted the suspect before he could reach the ballroom, where President Donald Trump was preparing to speak. Witnesses reported hearing several shots outside the room, and agents quickly moved Trump and Vice President JD Vance off the stage. One agent was hit but was protected by his bulletproof vest. Trump later told reporters the agent was unharmed. MPD interim chief Jeffery Carroll characterized the suspect as a “lone actor” and said he was taken to a hospital for evaluation following his arrest. Roughly 10 minutes before the shooting, the suspect allegedly emailed his family a “manifesto,” according to the New York Post, which cited two US officials and a copy of the document. In it, the author states they are “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes”—language the