A federal judge just told the man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump that the criminal justice system owes him an apology.
Let that sink in.
Federal Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui took it upon himself to apologize in open court to Cole Thomas Allen, the 31-year-old California educator charged with attempting to assassinate Trump and other administration officials at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last month.
Allen can be seen in security footage rushing a security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and knives, and exchanging gunfire with law enforcement while trying to reach an event packed with the president, senior officials, and hundreds of journalists. A shotgun pellet from his weapon ended up embedded in a Secret Service agent's bulletproof vest.
Prosecutors say Allen spent weeks planning the attack. Surveillance video shows him walking the grounds the day prior, surveying the entrances, and getting the lay of the land.
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Before charging the checkpoint, Allen sent an email to family and friends apologizing for the lies he'd told while preparing for the attack and warning them about what was coming. He chose buckshot, he allegedly wrote, specifically to limit casualties. He made a series of calculated decisions.
Minutes later, he opened fire, causing mass panic.
And this judge apologized to him.
Faruqui's concern was the conditions of Allen's confinement at the D.C. jail, where defense attorneys claim he was held in a constantly lit "safe cell" on suicide watch without his glasses, legal materials, or regular family contact. The judge raised what he called "grave concerns" about Allen's treatment, questioned why the FBI's interpretation of Allen's pre-attack statement — that he didn't expect to survive — was being used to justify prolonged suicide watch conditions, and compared Allen's treatment to that of January 6 defendants, suggesting Allen's was even harsher and that he needed to be treated with “dignity.”
What a joke.
The judge then ordered Allen removed from suicide watch and directed the jail to ease the most restrictive conditions. Meanwhile, prosecutors continue to argue — correctly — that Allen remains a serious and ongoing danger based on the attack itself, his written statements, and the sheer quantity of weapons he brought to the venue.
Larry Kudlow captured the reaction of most sane Americans when he went off on Fox News. "The judge apologized to this guy, who's a killer? Who, if he had gotten another couple of yards, would’ve sprayed the whole audience at the correspondent's dinner?" Kudlow said. "Just sprayed them, and killed God knows how many people? Then would've taken a shot over the whole audience at the president? We're apologizing to this guy?! I don't get that!"
🚨 JUST IN: Judge Zia Faruqui has just APOLOGIZED to the man who tried killing President Trump in court, Cole Allen
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 4, 2026
Remove this judge NOW!
"The judge is concerned about the treatment he's gotten."
KUDLOW: "The judge APOLOGIZED to this guy, who would've SPRAYED the whole… pic.twitter.com/jET1zJFxQZ
Neither do we, Larry. Neither do we.
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