Judge orders White House Correspondents’ dinner suspect off suicide watch

Key Points:

• A federal judge criticized the D.C. Department of Corrections for placing Cole Tomas Allen, charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, in "functionally solitary confinement" based on a suicide risk assessment despite no initial indicators of such risk.
• Allen, who faces life imprisonment if convicted, has been confined in a padded "safe cell" with strict restrictions including continuous lighting, use of a straitjacket, and limited access to legal materials, family contact, and recreation.
• The judge compared Allen's treatment unfavorably to that of January 6 Capitol riot defendants, emphasizing that detention conditions should not be punitive and ordered the Department of Corrections to provide the psychiatric assessment justifying Allen's confinement.
• Allen's attorneys argue the severe restrictions are due to the case's high-profile nature, which violates DOC policies, and that he has no criminal history and is presumed innocent, while the Justice Department highlighted Allen's prior statements indicating he did not expect to survive the assassination attempt.
• Prosecutors detailed Allen’s premeditated plan involving multiple weapons and his intent to kill the president at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, noting his apprehension occurred just feet from the event's ballroom.