WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday that he believes that the alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter was targeting Trump administration officials.
“It does appear that he did, in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the President,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding that the suspect likely traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C.
The suspect will be formally charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in an attempt to kill a federal officer, Blanche said.
Blanche said the suspect was not cooperating with investigators as of Sunday morning.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington by Secret Service agents on Saturday night after a man opened fire on security personnel nearby.
The man fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested, officials have said.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Sergio Non, Alexandra Hudson)
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