Judge apologizes to WHCD suspect Cole Allen for 'extremely disturbing' jail conditions
WASHINGTON, DC: A federal magistrate judge in Washington, DC, on Monday, May 4, apologized to the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, admitting he is "very troubled" by the “legally deficient” treatment he has faced in a DC jail.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, had been confined to a safe cell, described as a padded room with a 24-hour lockdown procedure, ever since he was placed in federal custody after prosecutors charged him with attempting to assassinate the president and two firearm charges.
Allen is accused of sprinting through a security checkpoint one story above the ballroom and opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, an event attended by the POTUS as well as senior officials and hundreds of journalists.
Judge ‘disturbed’ over ‘legally deficient’ treatment of Cole Tomas Allen
Over the weekend, the DC jail officials eased restrictions placed on Allen after his attorney complained that he had been unnecessarily confined in a padded room.
However, the eased conditions did little to address US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui’s concerns that Allen may have been subjected to unequal and punitive treatment in violation of his due process rights.
He noted that the DC jail routinely houses convicted killers without placing them under a 24-hour lockdown situation. “It could drive a person crazy to be in that situation,” he said.
At one point, Faruqui told Allen he was "very troubled" by the "conditions you've been treated to."
He then directly apologized to the shooting suspect over his confinement situation, saying, "I am very troubled by what they indicate the conditions that you have been subjected to ... I’m sorry. It sounds like things have not been the way they’re supposed to ... Whatever you’ve been through, I apologize."
Judge compares Cole Tomas Allen's jail treatment to that of Capitol rioters
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine argued that the FBI recommended the measure after Allen told agents following his April 25 arrest that he “did not expect to survive the attempted assassination of the president.”
Tony Towns, an attorney for the DC jail, said Allen was being held in an isolated cell due to “ongoing” psychological evaluations, adding that the facility’s medical staff made the decision.
Moreover, Faruqui interpreted Allen’s statement in custody as indicating that he expected to be shot during his attack on the black-tie soiree at the Washington Hilton hotel.
He also reflected that he is "concerned" by the fact that Allen has been treated differently from many now-pardoned Jan 6 defendants, who Faruqui said were often assigned to medium- or low-security prisons.
“To me, it’s extremely disturbing that he was put in five-point restraints, a person with no criminal history. It’s troubling. I never heard of one Jan 6 defendant who was put in five-point restraints or in a safe cell. If the only way to keep him safe is the most punitive thing, that’s a problem,” he said.
Faruqui ordered the DC Department of Corrections to update the court by Tuesday morning on how long it will take for officials to determine where Allen will be detained ahead of trial.
