The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday has the district on edge as it gears up for a summer of high-profile events marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
The suspect, Cole Allen, accused of running through the dinner’s security checkpoint, shooting a Secret Service officer, and running toward the room where President Donald Trump and other high-profile attendees were gathered, was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the president.
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Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, warned other would-be troublemakers to stay away from the district as a series of events featuring the president puts a spotlight on security concerns.
“Washington, D.C., is not the place to travel to commit acts of violence,” Pirro said on Monday. “The Constitution and the laws of the United States permit us to register our views through our voices and our votes. What they don’t permit is making your views known through violence, especially violence directed at the president of the United States.”
Her words come as the president is set to be the top official in attendance at several America 250 events in Washington this summer, including the June 14 UFC fight at the White House, which will feature security on par with the Super Bowl. Trump’s Freedom 250 organization is also hosting the historic IndyCar race on the National Mall from Aug. 21 to 23.
“Let this be a message to anyone who thinks that Washington, D.C., is the place to act out political violence,” Pirro said, “and if you are willing to do so with a firearm and cross state lines, we will find you.”
The White House said on Monday it is considering changes to the president’s security and revealed it is holding a meeting with top officials to discuss how the Secret Service handles protocol for events Trump is attending moving forward.
UFC CEO Dana White has already warned that security concerns are going to be a “massive issue” at the White House fight.
“Security is going to be a massive issue because, at the end of the day, the Secret Service’s job is to protect the president,” White told the Herd with Colin Cowherd in September.
SUSIE WILES TO HOLD MEETING ABOUT SECRET SERVICE PROTOCOLS AT TRUMP EVENTS
Despite the harrowing shooting at Saturday’s press dinner, Trump has pressed to have a redo for the event in the next month. But the FBI has warned that security will be amped up.
“I think we are going to do it entirely differently,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on Fox & Friends. “You heard the president say on Saturday night that we’re going to do this again in short order, maybe in 30 days or so, and we’re going to be ready for that. The security posture, I imagine, is going to be completely different.”
