Attorneys for Trump Assassination Suspect Seek to Disqualify DC US Attorney Pirro, Acting AG Blanche

Attorneys for Cole Allen, the man accused of trying to kill President Donald Trump on April 25 at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in the Washington Hilton hotel, demanded that US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro recuse herself from the case.

The nine-page motion, filed Thursday, argues that Pirro, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other unnamed Justice Department officials have a conflict of interest that bars them from prosecuting Allen. It calls for disqualifying the entire US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which is handling the case.

Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, faces charges of attempting to storm the ballroom during the dinner while armed with a rifle, handgun, knives and a large quantity of ammunition. Video from inside the Washington Hilton shows a person identified as Allen running toward a security checkpoint with a 12-gauge shotgun. He fired the weapon once and fell to the ground.

Prosecutors say a pellet from Allen's buckshot hit a Secret Service agent's ballistic vest and caused minor injuries. A Secret Service agent fired five rounds at Allen but missed.

Witnesses described chaos at the dinner after the shooting. Secret Service agents drew guns to evacuate Trump.

Both Pirro and Blanche were inside the ballroom during the incident. Federal public defenders cited that fact, along with Pirro's personal friendship with Trump, as reasons for conflict.

Allen's attorneys also pointed to Pirro's media appearances and social media posts after the attack. In an X post this week, amid controversy over Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui apologizing to Allen for his jail conditions, Pirro wrote: "Welcome to Washington, DC, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Faruqui believes a defendant armed to the teeth and attempting to assassinate the president is entitled to preferential treatment in his confinement compared to every other defendant."

Allen's lawyers called the post an "emotional response… was inflammatory, inappropriate and inaccurate."

The motion argues that even if Pirro, Blanche and others lack a direct conflict, the appearance of one requires disqualification under the law.

"As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder—how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?" it states. "Or even—how can one of the victim’s closest friends prosecute the alleged perpetrator of the offense? Given U.S. Attorney Pirro’s friendship with the President and her and Acting A.G. Blanche’s attendance at the event at the center of this prosecution, the law necessitates their disqualification."

The motion asks the court to bar Pirro and Blanche from the investigation and prosecution.

Pirro responded in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday morning. "We will evaluate the motion and respond in court," she said. "We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law."

Allen faces arraignment Monday morning, May 11. Fox News Digital contacted Pirro's office, the Justice Department and Allen's attorneys.