Cole Allen, 31, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States as well as two federal gun charges
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NEED TO KNOW
- Cole Allen, 31, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States as well as two federal gun charges
- Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said Allen’s treatment in a Washington D.C. jail appeared worse than that of the 2021 U.S. Capitol rioters
- “I can tell you I have never had a Jan. 6 defendant who was put in five-point restraints or a safe cell,” Faruqui said
A federal magistrate judge apologized to a California man who allegedly attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
At a hearing on Monday, May 4, in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said 31-year-old Cole Allen's treatment in jail appeared worse than that of the 2021 U.S. Capitol rioters.
“I can tell you I have never had a Jan. 6 defendant who was put in five-point restraints or a safe cell,” Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said during the hearing, CNBC reported.
“I am very troubled by what they indicate the conditions that you have been subjected to,” he said, per NBC News. “I’m sorry. It sounds like things have not been the way they’re supposed to.”
“My concern remains if this is what's happening in this case, what’s happening in every other case?" he continued, per the outlet.
Faruqui said Jan. 6, 2021 defendants had been housed in a less restrictive wing of the Washington D.C. jail than Allen, who was placed under suicide watch despite not being a suicide risk.
“The defendants all were moved to the [Central Treatment Facility],” Faruqui said, according to Politico. “Pardons may erase convictions but they do not erase history … He’s being treated differently than anyone I’ve ever observed.”
According to a defense motion filed on Saturday, May 2, and obtained by PEOPLE, the Department of Corrections placed Allen in a “safe cell” that included a padded room with constant lighting and 24-hour lockdown procedures; there was a requirement that the inmate wear a vest “akin to a strait jacket."
Allen's federal public defenders said that because of these restrictions, he was not permitted to use a jail tablet or have visitors except for his attorneys.
“Mr. Allen is forced to be escorted to the shower, strip searched when entering and exiting his cell, and wear a padded vest while inside,” they wrote in the filing. “These conditions are excessive restrictions on his liberty that serve no justifiable purpose and deprive Mr. Allen of dignity while incarcerated.”
His attorneys dropped the order the following day after finding out Allen was no longer on "suicide status," per USA Today. However, Faruqui ordered prosecutors and jail officials to return to court on Tuesday, May 5.
Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States as well as two federal gun charges.
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Authorities alleged that Allen was carrying a shotgun, pistol and three knives when he attempted to rush through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton Hotel, which was hosting the Correspondents' Dinner, on Saturday, April 25.
In attendance at the yearly dinner were several high-ranking government officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
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