A federal magistrate judge on Monday issued a public apology to the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, saying the defendant’s jail conditions were unacceptable and drawing a pointed comparison to the treatment of January 6 defendants.
Cole Allen, 31, has been held in federal custody since his arrest on April 25, 2026, following a suspected plot to enter the White House Correspondents’ Dinner ballroom and kill Trump along with other senior government officials. He faces three federal charges: attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm across state lines, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui convened an emergency hearing Monday at the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse in Washington, D.C., after expressing what he called “grave concerns” about Allen’s treatment in jail. Allen had been placed on suicide watch upon his arrest, which subjected him to 24-hour lockdown in a “safe cell,” five-point restraints, and a prohibition on phone access to anyone outside his legal team.
Allen was also denied a copy of the Bible despite making more than one request.
“To me it’s extremely disturbing that he was put in five-point restraints, a person with no criminal history,” Faruqui said from the bench, as per Fox News. “It’s troubling. I never heard of one January 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.”
The judge then addressed Allen directly from the bench.
“What am I to say to Allen that this is going to be a fair process if we’re putting him in a safe cell when he’s not supposed to be in there?” Faruqui said. “At a minimum I should be apologizing to him. We are obligated to make sure he’s taken care of. Mr. Allen, I’m sorry that things have not been the way they are supposed to.”
The emergency hearing was called after Allen’s attorneys filed a Sunday motion requesting he be removed from suicide precautions. The attorneys later withdrew the motion after saying they learned Allen was no longer under the jail’s suicide watch protocols. Despite the withdrawal, Faruqui ordered prosecutors, defense attorneys, and a Department of Corrections legal representative to appear before him Monday at noon.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine argued that suicide watch was justified because Allen told investigators he did not expect to survive the alleged attack. Faruqui rejected that reasoning.
The judge said January 6 defendants had been housed in a Correctional Treatment Facility, a less restrictive environment, and used that as a baseline for what Allen’s confinement should look like.
“Pardons may erase convictions, but they don’t erase history,” Faruqui said, referencing January 6. “They were hanging gallows outside.”
Allen’s case drew national attention after prosecutors revealed he had written a manifesto outlining plans to target Trump and other senior officials. Investigators have also said Allen told them he did not expect to make it out of the Correspondents’ Dinner alive.
Allen declined to exercise his right to a pre-trial detention hearing on April 30 and remains in custody. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11.
Faruqui ordered the jail to report back to him by Tuesday morning on Allen’s housing situation. He indicated Allen should be moved to a section of the jail with windows and standard access.
“Legal visits, ask for legal visits, do not accept that these things are acceptable,” the judge told Allen. “We will get you the Bible. If we can get someone vegan food we can get you a Bible, we can make sure you’re not in five-point restraints.”
