BOSTON – Legal counsel for the individual charged with attempting to kill President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has filed a motion requesting a federal judge lift his client’s suicide watch status at a Washington detention facility.
Cole Tomas Allen is accused of breaching a security perimeter and discharging a shotgun near the high-profile media event on April 25.
Upon his arrival at the detention center on April 27, Allen was placed in what officials term a “safe cell,” which court documents describe as a cushioned room requiring round-the-clock confinement and mandating the wearing of “a vest akin to a strait jacket.”
His conditions were later modified to “suicide precautions,” which continue to prohibit Allen from making telephone calls, receiving visitors other than his attorneys, or leaving his cell except for legal meetings or bathing under supervision, court filings indicate. Although a medical professional recommended Friday that these restrictions be lifted, they remained active during a recent visit from one of his court-appointed attorneys.
The defense filing argues that Allen’s current conditions “amounts to punishment” and prevents him from accessing resources including a facility tablet “which would permit him to communicate with loved ones outside of the jail.”
Federal prosecutors have charged Allen with attempted assassination, firing a weapon during a violent crime, and unlawfully moving firearms and ammunition between states. Allen has yet to formally respond to the charges.
