Accused Correspondents' Dinner gunman charged with attempted assassination of Trump

[0:00] Welcome to the NewsHour. The suspect who attempted to storm a press gala this [0:04] weekend in Washington DC has been charged with attempted assassination of [0:08] President Donald Trump among other federal weapons charges. If convicted he [0:13] could face up to life in prison. Meantime officials today confirmed a [0:16] Secret Service agent wearing a bulletproof vest was shot during the [0:19] incident and is expected to make a full recovery. Our White House correspondent [0:24] Liz Landers starts our coverage. At a dinner celebrating the First Amendment [0:30] freedom of the press, at first muffled chaos, then Secret Service agents [0:37] sprinting towards the main stage. The Vice President quickly seized out of his [0:41] seat and a frantic rush to encircle the president. Agents swarmed the ballroom [0:49] climbing over chairs and tables in search of officials in the presidential [0:52] line of succession. Escorting them out first as over 2,000 journalists, high [0:57] profile guests and other government officials crouched under tables. Just [1:02] moments earlier in a hallway leading to the ballroom, a gunman stormed through the [1:07] first layer of security. A burst of gunfire followed. The suspect identified by [1:12] officials as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen was tackled to the ground. He was [1:17] armed with two firearms and knives. Allen sprinted at least 60 feet before he was [1:23] apprehended, reaching the top of a staircase that led to the ballroom. At the bottom of [1:28] the staircase, a set of doors opened to the room with a clear vantage point of the [1:33] president. Allen was charged with the attempted assassination of President [1:37] Donald Trump, as well as discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and [1:41] transport of a firearm between states. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche [1:45] called the incident an act of violence. [1:47] That horrible act was stopped because of the courage and professionalism of law [1:52] enforcement. The officers who responded without hesitation and did their jobs as [1:58] they were trained to do. Officials say law enforcement fired five shots while the [2:03] suspect fired at least one shot. One bullet hit a Secret Service agent but did not [2:09] pierce his bulletproof vest. The shooting at the security barricades happened [2:13] minutes after the event got underway. In a hastily organized briefing after the [2:18] incident, President Trump suggested his politics have made him a repeated target. [2:23] It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit, [2:27] and that never changes. Yet Saturday marked the third assassination attempt of [2:33] President Trump in less than two years. White House Press Secretary Caroline [2:37] Levitt today blaming the Democratic Party for threats to the president. We disagree [2:41] often, myself in this role and all of you in the news media, but those [2:45] disagreements must remain peaceful. Debating, peaceful protesting and voting are how we [2:51] need to settle disagreements, not bullets. Though the president himself has [2:55] threatened retribution against his enemies in the past. Allen is believed to [2:59] have traveled by train from California to Chicago and then to Washington DC where he [3:04] checked himself into the hotel where the gala was held. It sounded to me, I read a [3:09] manifesto. He's radicalized. He was a Christian, a believer, and then he became an [3:17] anti-Christian and he had a lot of change. He's been going through a lot based on what [3:22] he wrote. On CBS's 60 Minutes, Trump lashed out when journalist Nora O'Donnell read an [3:27] excerpt of the suspect's reported writings. He also wrote this, I'm no longer willing to [3:32] permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes. What's your [3:38] reaction to that? Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would [3:41] because you're horrible people, horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I'm not a [3:47] rapist. I didn't rape anybody. I'm not a pedophile. Do you think he was referring to you? Excuse me. Excuse me. [3:53] The president also brushed aside conspiracy theories about the incident being staged. [3:57] I hesitate to ask you about this, but as you know these conspiracy theories out [4:02] there on the left and the right that the event was staged or that it didn't [4:07] happen and these conspiracy theories that are gaining traction. October 7th didn't [4:12] happen and World War II didn't happen and the Holocaust didn't happen and many [4:18] things didn't happen. Yeah, no one here. I don't know. I think they're more sick [4:22] than they are con people, but there's a lot of con in it too. And even used the [4:27] attack to make multiple pitches for his White House ballroom project both on 60 [4:32] minutes and in that press conference right after the incident. They've wanted [4:36] the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons, but today's a little [4:42] bit different because today we need levels of security that probably nobody's ever [4:47] seen before. That security still praised by officials despite reports it was [4:52] lax. We also should recognize what did not happen. Law enforcement did not fail. Yet [4:59] questions remain how to keep a president safe while he stays in the public eye. [5:04] Support journalism. You trust support PBS news. Donate now or even better start a [5:11] monthly contribution today.