A federal magistrate judge raised concerns on Monday that the man accused of trying to kill President Trump and top cabinet members at an annual press gala had been placed in unusually punitive detention for days while awaiting next steps in court.<\/p>\n
During a hastily scheduled hearing in Washington, Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui demanded answers about how the man had been placed on suicide watch, denied a number of basic services and held in what the judge called \u201ceffectively solitary confinement\u201d for nearly a week, all while the government has been slow to establish key facts in the federal case against him.<\/p>\n
The man, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, had appeared in court last week, where prosecutors said they were charging him with trying to assassinate Mr. Trump and discharging a weapon while he stormed the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner, an annual gala for journalists. The Justice Department also accused Mr. Allen of transporting guns, including a pump-action shotgun, from California to Washington, and plotting to kill a number of top officials in a predetermined order.<\/p>\n
Mr. Allen had been expected to appear in court later in May, but Judge Faruqui set a rapid hearing on Monday after Mr. Allen\u2019s lawyers raised alarms over the weekend about the terms of his imprisonment. Among other things, his lawyers said Mr. Allen had been placed on suicide watch without a complete psychiatric evaluation and was regularly being held alone for as many as 23 hours per day.<\/p>\n
Tony Towns, an official from the D.C. Department of Corrections, told the court that the psychiatric evaluation process had been routine, adding that \u201cevery case is different\u201d and that no final determination had been made on how Mr. Allen would be held moving forward.<\/p>\n
At the hearing, Judge Faruqui grilled Mr. Towns about how Mr. Allen had been placed under watch, stripping him of some basic privileges including visits, nonlegal phone calls and access to a Bible. Eugene Ohm, a federal public defender representing Mr. Allen, said he had been held alone for up to 23 hours a day \u2014 conditions that Judge Faruqui described as \u201ceffectively solitary confinement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m obviously very concerned about how we\u2019ve gotten here,\u201d Judge Faruqui said.<\/p>\n
The judge contrasted Mr. Allen\u2019s treatment with that of dozens of people convicted of violent crimes during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot who were placed in lower security housing and cleared out of precautions for suicide. By comparison, Judge Faruqui said, Mr. Allen has been placed in \u201cthe most punitive, harshest\u201d conditions despite having no criminal history.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been treated completely differently than anyone I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d the judge added.<\/p>\n
Judge Faruqui ordered the Department of Corrections to report back by 9 a.m. Tuesday, sharing any determination or updates on Mr. Allen\u2019s housing status.<\/p>\n
Throughout the hearing, Mr. Allen appeared subdued, looking on from his lawyers\u2019 table dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit. At the end of the hearing, he acknowledged Judge Faruqui\u2019s request that he continue to reach out through his lawyers if conditions did not improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot simply accept that this is how it\u2019s going to be,\u201d the judge said, drawing a nod from Mr. Allen.<\/p>\n