Judge Apologizes to Assassin Suspect

It may not come as a surprise to learn that would-be presidential assassin Cole Allen isn’t enjoying his time in jail.

But what is surprising is that a federal judge just apologized to Allen for the conditions of his jail cell.

As reported by CBS News:

A federal judge on Monday sharply criticized the treatment of accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner attacker Cole Allen, at one point apologizing to the defendant for what he saw as overly restrictive and punitive conditions at the D.C. jail where he is being held.

Prosecutors have charged Allen with attempting to assassinate the president and two firearm charges. They say Allen — armed with a shotgun — sprinted through a security checkpoint one story above the ballroom for the April 25 dinner at the Washington Hilton, where President Trump, top administration officials and members of the press corps were among the 2,600 guests. Allen, 31, has not yet entered a plea.

Lawyers for Allen have agreed that the alleged would-be presidential assassin will remain jailed while awaiting trial, but have pushed back on his treatment there. They say Allen was placed on suicide watch shortly after arriving at jail last week, meaning he was held in a padded cell with the lights on constantly and no access to a phone or tablet. A day later, he was downgraded to suicide precautions, which still sharply limited his access to a phone and ability to leave his cell, his lawyers said.

On Friday, Allen’s lawyers said he was reassessed and deemed not to be a risk, but was still held in a form of protective custody that resulted in him being held separately.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Monday pressed a representative of the D.C. Department of Corrections about conditions at the jail, including allegations from Allen’s lawyers that the defendant was denied access last week to a Bible, that his tablet has not been set up yet, and that he wasn’t able to meet with his legal team privately last week.

At one point, Faruqui told Allen he was “very troubled” by the “conditions you’ve been treated to.”

The judge also apologized to Allen for the issues in the first week of his detention.

Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all, but this one really caught me off guard. The judge had the audacity to apologize to Allen, the teacher-turned-suspected-shooter, who sprinted past security with multiple guns and weapons, with by all appearances – not to mention the words in his manifesto – the intention of killing the President and members of his Administration. Honestly, it’s a miracle Allen was apprehended alive and unharmed. He even expressed that he didn’t expect to survive the night.

But the judge was so upset with the conditions heard from Allen’s legal team – for what it’s worth – that he felt it necessary to issue an apology, reportedly stating to Allen: “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.”

The judge later compared Allen’s situation to those arrested in regard to the events of January 6, claiming he doesn’t remember the January 6 suspects being treated this way. Whether they were held in the same manner or not, none of them were charged with actively trying to assassinate anyone. They didn’t storm a hotel ballroom full of journalists with multiple weapons. 

This is an extraordinary circumstance, and he is not a typical suspect in a routine crime. I understand the idea of treating everyone equally under the law to ensure a fair justice system. But there are ways to do that without just making it another political moment, which makes this judge seem biased – already sympathizing with the alleged shooter.

Allen is indeed presumed innocent until proven guilty, but nonetheless, we’ve seen the video footage. We know what happened here. We’ve seen the manifestos. There’s enough to warrant extra precautions when holding him. There’s a reason he wasn’t released on bail. For the judge to ignore all of that in the interest of virtue signaling makes him look more like an activist judge than a just and fair magistrate. These proceedings will have to be watched very carefully.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of the judge’s apology to suspected shooter Cole Allen. We also gave you an update on our critical work for persecuted Christians in Pakistan.

Watch the full broadcast below: