A radical district court judge in D.C. apologized to the White House Correspondents Dinner suspected shooter, Cole Allen for the conditions of his cell, and for being held in confinement, even though he had been on suicide watch.
The Pakistani-American magistrate judge Zia Faruqui, who has long opposed President Trump, also went on a rant making comparisons between Allen and the defendants arrested for rioting at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
"To me it’s extremely disturbing that he was put in five-point restraints, a person with no criminal history," Faruqui said, later adding that Allen is presumed innocent. "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."
Fox News Digital also pointed out that the judge also said that even January 6 defendants were only housed in a Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF), a less restrictive form of prison housing.
"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 judge also said Allen should be placed in a cell with windows.
Next up is a preliminary hearing on May 11.
Photo: Handout / Getty Images News / Getty Images