Judge questions jail’s suicide-watch placement of Trump dinner suspect

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A federal magistrate judge on Monday questioned why a city jail placed Cole Tomas Allen on restrictive suicide watch after his arrest in connection with an attack on the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui pressed Tony Towns, acting general counsel for the city’s corrections department, to explain the decision in the face of defense complaints about the conditions Allen experienced.

The jail removed Allen from its designated “suicide status” after his attorneys challenged the placement over the weekend, according to court proceedings described by the Associated Press. Allen’s lawyers said he was unnecessarily confined in a padded room with constant lighting, repeatedly strip-searched, and placed in restraints outside his cell.

Faruqui said the more relaxed conditions did not address his concerns, warning that Allen may have received disparate, punitive treatment that could violate due process rights. Faruqui pointed to broader jail practices, noting that the D.C. jail routinely houses convicted killers and other people charged with violent crimes without placing them on 24-hour lockdown.

“It could drive a person crazy to be in that situation,” Faruqui said, describing the effect of the conditions on a detainee. The judge also apologized to Allen over his confinement conditions, and his remarks were followed by criticism from outside the courtroom after a news report on the apology.

After the apology was reported, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro criticized Faruqui on social media, saying 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.” Faruqui’s comments and Pirro’s reaction were both brought up as the judge continued probing why the suicide-watch restrictions were applied when Allen was already facing serious federal charges.

Allen’s lawyers argued that he was not showing suicide risk factors after his arrest, and they said they did not object once Allen was later moved into protective custody after the suicide prevention measures were lifted. Defense counsel also had asked Faruqui to cancel Monday’s hearing, but the judge went forward, citing “grave concerns” about Allen’s treatment in jail.

Prosecutors said the jail’s suicide-risk concerns began with a psychiatric evaluation after Allen’s arrest. Towns said the jail psychiatrist initially concluded that Allen posed a suicide risk, adding, “Every case is different, your honor,” as the judge pressed for an explanation. Justice Department prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen later told FBI agents that he did not expect to survive the April 25 attack, a detail she said could help explain why he was treated as a suicide risk.

The underlying case stems from an April 25 incident at the Washington Hilton that disrupted a prominent annual event in the nation’s capital, authorities said. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot during the attack, according to the report, and he 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.

Ballantine said authorities reported that Pirro has said Allen fired a shot that struck the agent’s bullet-resistant vest. Allen is charged with attempted assassination of the president and two additional firearms counts, and prosecutors said he faces up to life in prison if convicted on the assassination count alone.

Defense attorney Eugene Ohm said Allen was prohibited from having anything in his cell, and Ohm said Allen asked for a Bible and a visit from a chaplain but had not received either. Faruqui’s questions about the suicide-watch decision kept focus on whether the jail’s restrictions were justified and applied consistently, even after Allen’s attorneys said they had secured less restrictive confinement.