Judge rebukes prosecutors for moving forward with detention proceedings for accused correspondents' dinner gunman

Source: CBS News

May 1, 2026 / 5:54 PM EDT


During a hearing on whether accused White House Correspondents' Dinner gunman Cole Allen should remain detained ahead of a criminal trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya scolded federal prosecutors for pushing to move forward with the proceedings even though Allen agreed to remain in custody.

The exchange between prosecutors and the judge occurred when Upadhyaya directed lawyers to approach the bench to discuss the government's effort to push its case for Allen's detention. Members of the press and public in attendance could not hear the conversation, but it was included in a transcript of Thursday's proceedings that was obtained by CBS News.

"I don't know what's going on here. I know that you want to present your case, I guess, to some audience other than the Court," Upadhyaya told the prosecutors. "I don't want this to turn into a circus. I don't want to have a whole big fight over discovery right now.". Jocelyn Ballantine, one of the prosecutors working on Allen's case, told the judge that the government is five days into its investigation and would continue turning over information to the defense. "Just give them what you have got that you can hand over before the preliminary hearing. Okay. That's it," Upadhyaya told Ballantine. The next hearing is set for May 11.

The judge raised the prospect that there could be "significant issues and possibly some national security documents." "But I don't want to get into a whole discussion on the record about which documents you have," Upadhyaya said. "Neither one of you may want to have that discussion on the record in open court."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-rebukes-prosecutors-accused-correspondents-dinner-gunman/