Judge "very troubled" by accused correspondents' dinner gunman's treatment in jail

A federal judge on Monday sharply criticized the treatment of accused White House Correspondents' Dinner attacker Cole Allen , at one point apologizing to the defendant for what he saw as overly restrictive and punitive conditions at the D.C. jail where he is being held. Prosecutors have charged Allen with attempting to assassinate the president and two firearm charges. They say Allen — armed with a shotgun — sprinted through a security checkpoint one story above the ballroom for the April 25 dinner at the Washington Hilton , where President Trump, top administration officials and members of the press corps were among the 2,600 guests. Lawyers for Allen have agreed that the alleged would-be presidential assassin will remain jailed while awaiting trial, but have pushed back on his treatment there. They say Allen was placed on suicide watch shortly after arriving at jail last week, meaning he was held in a padded cell with the lights on constantly and no access to a phone or tablet. A day later, he was downgraded to suicide precautions, which still sharply limited his access to a phone and ability to leave his cell, his lawyers said. On Friday, Allen's lawyers said he was reassessed and deemed not to be a risk, but was still held in a form of protective custody that resulted in him being held separately. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Monday pressed a representative of the D.C. …