A lawyer for Cole Thomas Allen is calling for suicide precautions to be lifted, while a Torrance man remains in jail for attempting to kill President Trump.
In a motion filed Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, federal public defender AJ Kramer argued that Allen is being unlawfully punished by continued confinement in a padded cell despite multiple evaluations showing no indication of suicide risk.
“Mr. Allen is forced to take showers, is strip-searched when entering and exiting the cell, and wears a padded vest while inside,” Kramer wrote. “These conditions are excessive restrictions on his liberty that serve no reasonable purpose and deprive Mr. Allen of dignity while he is in prison.”
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Monday afternoon before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui in federal court in Washington. A court filing said a representative of the U.S. Department of Corrections will be present at the hearing.
Neither Cramer nor the U.S. Justice Department responded to emailed questions Sunday.
In his argument, Kramer cited case law stating that “if a restriction or condition is not reasonably related to a legitimate goal – if it is arbitrary or purposeless,” then a court may infer that it is a punishment that “cannot constitutionally be imposed” on a detainee.
Allen is being held in a jail in the District of Columbia pending trial after agreeing to continued detention during an April 28 hearing.
According to the proposal, Allen was assigned to a “secure cell”, defined as a padded room with constant lighting, and was required to wear a vest “similar to a strait jacket”, was not to leave the cell except for legal or medical visits, and was to be strip-searched upon entry and exit.
During the intake on April 27, Allen was initially advised that he would remain in a secure cell, although a member of the intake team “did not note any suicide risk factors,” the motion states.
According to the motion, he was re-evaluated on April 28 and despite the second evaluation finding no suicide risk factors, he was upgraded to suicide “watch”, which required dim lighting and no access to phone calls or a prison tablet to communicate with anyone outside the prison.
Kramer wrote that he met with Allen on April 28 and was assured that he would be kept in a regular cell until Thursday or Friday. The following day, a third evaluation found no indication of suicide risk, but Allen was reinstated only as a suicide precaution.
“Although relatively less stringent than suicide watch, Mr. Allen was still not allowed to make phone calls to or visit anyone outside his legal team, not have access to a prison tablet, or spend time outside his cell except for legal visits or showering – which must still be done with an escort.” Kramer wrote.
As of Saturday, Kramer said he still believed Allen was on suicide watch.
Allen faces a possible life sentence on terrorism-related charges of trying to kill Trump. He is also charged with two firearms violations related to allegedly carrying two guns across state lines while traveling from California to Washington by Amtrak train and allegedly destroying one of those firearms – a shotgun – during the incident.
Authorities took Allen into custody on April 25 after he sped past U.S. Secret Service agents at a checkpoint one floor above the ballroom, where Trump and other administration officials were attending the annual White House Correspondents’ Association event. dinner. According to prosecutors, he was armed with a shotgun, a pistol, and various knives. After this he fell on the ground and was taken into custody.
Trump administration officials, including acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and D.C. U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro swiftly brought charges against him – leaning heavily on an email Allen sent to the family, as he violated security at the event, which Trump and others referred to as a “manifesto” but which was titled “Apology and Explanation.”
