Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said that he was “fascinated and disturbed” by Allen's treatment in jail.
Allen was placed on suicide watch when he was first imprisoned. Prosecutors argued that since Allen told investigators he did not expect to survive the alleged attack, he could be a danger to himself.
But an incredulous Faruqui wasn't convinced by that argument, drawing comparisons between Allen and defendants arrested for rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“To me, it’s extremely disturbing that he was put in five-point restraints, a person with no criminal history. It’s troubling. I never heard of one Jan. 6 defendant who was put in five-point restraints or in a safe cell. If the only way to keep him safe is the most punitive thing, that’s a problem.”
“At a minimum, I should be apologizing to him. We are obligated to make sure he’s taken care of. Mr. Allen, I’m sorry that things have not been the way they are supposed to.”
"The jail is going to let me know by tomorrow morning about what’s going on with your housing situation," he said, "If not, I’m going to have more questions for them. We should be able to get you into the medium portion of the jail, with windows."
"Legal visits, ask for legal visits, do not accept that these things are acceptable," Faruqui advised. "We will get you the Bible. If we can get someone vegan food, we can get you a Bible, we can make sure you’re not in five-point restraints."
The judge ordered the jail to update him by tomorrow morning about Allen's jail accommodations.
