WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The man accused in the shooting at a media gala attended by Donald Trump this weekend was arraigned in court Monday on charges of trying to assassinate the president and two firearms crimes.

Cole Allen, 31, faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to kill Trump during the incident on Saturday at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington.

Allen, who wore a blue jumpsuit, did not enter a plea at the hearing in a federal court in the US capital. He was held pending his next court appearance.

Prosecutors told the court that Allen was carrying a pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic pistol and three knives when he tried to break through security at the Hilton hotel, where the annual WHCA dinner has taken place for decades.

Several shots were fired before he was subdued in a chaotic encounter near a checkpoint. Cole never got close to Trump or the other guests attending the large-scale dinner event on a lower floor.

Administration officials say the California man’s attack was the third attempt on 79-year-old Trump’s life in two years.

The White House has blamed a “left-wing cult of hatred” for inciting violence, singling out Democratic politicians who have accused Trump of trying to amass authoritarian powers.

Trump himself routinely breaks precedent with insults against opponents, the media, judges, foreign leaders and the head of the central bank.

– Bulletproof vest –

On Saturday, Trump was rushed out of the venue by Secret Service agents after the sound of gunshots erupted.

Video footage showed the gunman managed to sprint past a first line of security. No one was killed, but a bullet struck one agent’s bulletproof vest, officials say.

In a CBS interview on Sunday evening, Trump was asked if he feared there would be casualties as Washington’s government and media elite ducked for cover at the black-tie dinner downstairs.

“I wasn’t worried. I understand life. We live in a crazy world,” Trump said.

The New York Post said Allen had written in a message shared with his family shortly before the attack that his targets would be “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.”

Crowded into the venue were Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, several cabinet members and top lawmakers, and hundreds of guests.

Trump said at a hastily arranged late-night news conference at the White House that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped, before realizing it was gunfire.

He said he hoped the gala would be rescheduled within a month, adding that the hotel venue was “not a particularly secure” facility, as questions swirled about the president’s safety protocols.

The hotel has hosted gala dinners for the White House Correspondents Association for decades without incident. The WHCA always invites sitting presidents to attend, but Saturday was the first time Trump had accepted.

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the president in the ear.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.