The latest man charged with trying to assassinate President Donald Trump received an apology from the judge in his court appearance Monday.
Attorneys for Cole Allen claimed in filings revealed during the hearing that the suspect had been wrongfully placed on suicide watch and denied access to a Bible.
‘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.’
Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui gave the government until the next day to update the court on where Allen would be held at the Washington, D.C., jail.
“Whatever you’ve been through, I apologize for the prior week,” the judge said to Allen, according to USA Today.
“I’m sorry,” the judge said at another point.
Faruqui also compared Allen’s treatment in jail to that of the defendants in the Jan. 6 melee at the U.S. Capitol, saying he had been treated worse.
“This is not the jail’s first go-around with people engaged in alleged political violence,” the judge added.
Allen’s attorneys said in a filing to the court that Allen had been cleared of being a suicide risk but was assigned to the restrictions anyway. The prisoner was refused phone calls, non-legal visits, dimmed lights, tablets, and other personal items under the suicide risk designation, they claimed.
“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,” according to Allen’s public defender and two court-appointed attorneys.
“These conditions are excessive restrictions on his liberty that serve no justifiable purpose and deprive Mr. Allen of dignity while incarcerated,” they added in the filing.
The lawyers said Sunday that Allen has since been taken off suicide watch.
Allen was charged with attempted assassination of the president and two other charges after he allegedly fired a shotgun at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that President Donald Trump was attending. The suspect was captured on security video rushing through a security checkpoint with the gun before he was tackled to the ground and arrested.
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Allen left a large digital footprint full of left-wing criticism against the president, as well as other evidence that suggested the shooting may have been politically motivated.
He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of the charges. He has not yet entered a plea to the court.
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