The Justice Department said on April 25 that the suspect behind the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner faced at least two charges and would be arraigned after the weekend.
“The defendant will be arraigned on Monday in federal district court, but make no mistake, there will be many more charges based upon the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said during a press conference with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Pirro said that the suspect faced a count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, as well as a count related to assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Bowser said that both the suspect and a Secret Service agent were transported to the hospital.
In an earlier briefing at the White House, President Donald Trump said a Secret Service agent was shot in the incident. The president added that he had spoken with the agent and that he was “doing great.”
Trump said the suspect was from California and that authorities were going to his apartment. Also at the podium was Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said the investigation was ongoing.
Pirro said it was “clear, based upon what we know so far, that this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could.”
According to Interim D.C. Chief of Police Jeff Carroll, the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. “As he ran through that checkpoint, members of law enforcement from the United States Secret Service intercepted that individual,” Carroll said.
He added that the man appeared to be acting alone. “There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public,” Carroll said.
Carroll said the investigation was in a preliminary stage but that he believed the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner took place.
“We’ll go through video across the hotel to figure out how the gun got in, how it got down here,” he said.
FBI Director Kash Patel urged people to call the agency with tips if they had information. He said that the process of examining the suspect’s background had already begun.
In a statement posted to social media about the incident, Secret Service Director Sean Curran praised his agents.
“Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees,” he said.
He added that the apprehension of the suspect “shows that our multi-layered protection works.”
