The timeline laid out by prosecutors notes that on March 2, President Trump publicly announced that he would attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in a post on his Truth Social account. It was the first time he’d agreed to attend as president.
On the afternoon of April 6, prosecutors say Allen, who was then in his home state of California, used his cellphone to search “white house correspondents dinner 2026” and visited the page about the dinner on the White House Correspondents’ Association website.
On the same day, they say, Allen booked a room at the Washington Hilton, the venue for the April 25 dinner, for April 24-26.
Then on April 16, prosecutors say, he again used his phone to access articles discussing the dinner, including its host, CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, and the event schedule and expected attendees.
Allen purchased a one-way Amtrak train ticket from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., via Chicago, prosecutors say. And on April 21, he booked a car with a ride share app to travel from his home in the suburb of Torrance to Los Angeles Union Station to board the train.
During his trip across the country, Allen “kept a running note on his phone of his observations and thoughts,” prosecutors say.
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