Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: Saturday was supposed to be a joyful evening, celebrating free speech and the First Amendment with all of you members of the press. Instead, the night was hijacked by a crazed, anti-Trump individual, who traveled across the country to assassinate the president and as many administration officials as possible. This is the third major assassination attempt against President Trump in two years. No other president in history has faced such repeated, serious attempts on his life.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets, and more violence, than President Trump. This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters. By commentators? Yes. By elected members of the democrat party, and even some in the media. This hateful, and constant, and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day, for eleven years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this stark moment.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: When you have mentally disturbed individuals who are listening to this crazed rhetoric about the president, day after day, after day, it inspires them to do crazy things. And unfortunately, it's not just the media, the entire democrat party has made their pitch to voters across the country that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to democracy, that he is a fascist, and that they compare him to Hitler. These are despicable statements that the American people have been consuming for years, and so many mentally perturbed individuals are led to believe these words are true, and then are inspired to act of it.

LIVE: Department of Justice Press Conference on assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Acting Attorney General Blanche: I want to make this clear. This man [Allen] was a floor above the ballroom, with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president of the United States.

Acting Attorney General Blanche: Today, the Department of Justice field three federal charges in United States District Court against Cole Thomas Allen. The first count is attempted assassination of the president of the United States. This count is punishable by up to life in prison. The second count is interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony. This is punishable by up to ten years in prison. And the third count is discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, which is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ten years, a maximum of life, and the ten years is consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Reporter: Are you investigating connections that Cole Allen allegedly had to left-wing groups, one called the Wide Awakes?

Acting Attorney General Blanche: Yes. Of course we're investigating that.