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A magistrate judge on Monday apologized to the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner (WHCD).<\/span><\/p>\n Judge Zia Faruqui, in a District of Columbia courtroom, grilled jail officials over the conditions Cole Allen, the suspect, has faced behind bars.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Faruqui told Allen, who was reportedly held in solitary confinement. \u201cWhatever you\u2019ve been through, I apologize for the prior week,\u201d<\/span> according to USA Today<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Jail officials placed Allen on a temporary suicide watch that required 24-hour-a-day placement in a padded, lighted cell without access to phone calls, books, religious material, or recreational time. The judge called those measures punitive and not based on any known medical assessment,<\/span> according to Politico.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Faruqui, who has overseen January 6 cases, said Allen was being housed in more extreme conditions and treated more severely than those defendants, who were held in a lower restriction part of the jail called the Central Treatment Facility.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Jan. 6 defendants all were moved to the CTF,\u201d Faruqui said, according to Politico. \u201cPardons may erase convictions but they do not erase history \u2026 He\u2019s being treated differently than anyone I\u2019ve ever observed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He continued drawing similarities, comparing the January 6 attack at the Capitol to the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the jail\u2019s first go around with people engaged in alleged political violence,\u201d Faruqui said, according to USA Today.<\/span><\/p>\n Monday\u2019s hearing proceeded despite Allen\u2019s lawyers withdrawing their request after learning he was no longer on \u201csuicide status.\u201d Faruqui said he had \u201cgrave concerns\u201d about Allen being held in solitary confinement,<\/span> according to CBS News.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n At the end of the hearing, Faruqui directed D.C. jail officials to report back by Tuesday morning on whether \u2014 and when \u2014 Allen would be moved to less restrictive conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n Before becoming a magistrate judge, Faruqui served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 2008 to 2020, according to his public LinkedIn profile. He earned his bachelor\u2019s and law degrees from Georgetown University. The Georgetown Pakistan Public Policy Conclave<\/a> and the Muslim Bar Association<\/a> of New York have pages highlighting Faruqui\u2019s career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Monday\u2019s hearing is not the first time Faruqui has tussled with the Department of Justice. Seven months ago, he claimed the DOJ had lost credibility under the Trump administration, which provoked a fiery response from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJudge Faruqui has never really met someone with an illegal gun that he hasn\u2019t felt some compassion for,\u201d Pirro said at the time.<\/a> \u201cHe should do his job as a judge and leave his politics out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Authorities say Cole Thomas Allen, 31, was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives when he charged through a security checkpoint inside the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the WHCD was being held.<\/span><\/p>\n One floor above the ballroom packed with government officials and reporters, Allen discharged one of his weapons, striking a Secret Service agent before falling to the ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n