A federal judge expressed concern over the treatment of Cole Tomas Allen, accused of plotting against the White House, after he was removed from suicide watch and subjected to harsh confinement conditions. The judge apologized to Allen and questioned whether he received unequal treatment.
A federal magistrate judge on Monday pressed a jail official to explain why a man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and attempting to killOfficials at the city jail in Washington, D.C.
, removed Cole Tomas Allen from its designated “suicide status” over the weekend after his attorneys complained that he had been unnecessarily confined in a padded room with constant lighting, repeatedly strip searched and placed in restraints outside his cell. But the relaxed conditions didn't satisfy U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui's concerns that Allen may have received disparate, punitive treatment in violation of his due process rights. During a hearing, Faruqui criticized the general counsel for the D.C.
Department of Corrections, calling Allen’s confinement"disturbing.
"Faruqui noted that the D.C. jail routinely houses convicted killers and others charged with violent crimes without placing them on 24-hour lockdown. Faruqui apologized directly to Allen over his confinement conditions, 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.
"In response to a news report on that apology, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro criticized him in a social media post that said Faruqui “believes a defendant armed to the teeth and attempting to assassinate the president is entitled to preferential treatment in his confinement compared to every other defendant. ” Allen’s lawyers said he wasn’t showing any suicidal risk factors after his arrest.
But a jail psychiatrist evaluated him and initially concluded that he posed a suicide risk, according to Tony Towns, acting general counsel for the city's corrections department. Allen was moved into protective custody after the jail lifted the suicide prevention measures. His attorneys didn't object to his new confinement status. They had asked the magistrate to cancel Monday's hearing, but Faruqui forged ahead with it due to his"grave concerns" about Allen's treatment in jail.
Allen was injured but was not shot during the April 25 attack at the Washington Hilton, which disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. Allen was armed with guns and knives when he ran through a security checkpoint and pointed his weapon at a Secret Service agent, who fired back five times, authorities said. Pirro has said that Allen fired a shot that struck the agent’s bullet-resistant vest.
Allen later told FBI agents that he didn't expect to survive the attack, which could help explain why he was deemed to be a possible suicide risk, said Justice Department prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is charged with attempted assassination of the president and two additional firearms counts. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the assassination count alone. Defense attorney Eugene Ohm said Allen was prohibited from having anything in his cell.
He asked for a Bible and a visit from a chaplain but hasn't received either, according to Ohm.
Cole Tomas Allen White House Washington DC Jail Due Process Zia Faruqui
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