Federal magistrate Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui on Monday ordered the D.C. Department of Corrections to justify the punitive confinement of Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25. Charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump and senior officials, Allen has spent nearly a week in conditions the judge called “effectively solitary confinement.”

Allen’s lawyers argued he was placed on suicide watch without a full psychiatric assessment and denied basic privileges such as visits, non‑legal phone calls and even a Bible. D.C. Corrections official Tony Towns called the evaluation routine, but the judge noted that dozens of Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violence were moved out of similar restraints, highlighting a stark disparity in treatment.

Faruqui set a deadline for the corrections agency to report by 9 a.m. Tuesday on any change to Allen’s housing status, signaling judicial scrutiny of federal detention practices in high‑profile terrorism cases. The hearing underscores how procedural safeguards can become flashpoints when a politically charged defendant faces conditions far harsher than those applied to other violent offenders. Lawyers warned the situation could affect detainee rights cases.