WASHINGTON (7News) — As the man suspected of trying to kill President Donald Trump awaits his next day in court, several experts expect the Department of Justice to treat this case as domestic terrorism.
While domestic terrorism isn’t a standalone charge, prosecutors can use it as a sentencing enhancement.
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“Domestic terrorism, what it really means is that you’re trying to intimidate the country when you do an act like this, and that looks absolutely what this was,” explained John Fishwick, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. “An attempted assassination on the president is by its very nature designed to intimidate all of us.”
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., is charged with attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
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According to a pretrial memorandum filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Allen spent hours tracking the president’s movements online before allegedly charging a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25.
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