Defense attorneys challenge suicide watch for Trump assassination suspect

Defense lawyers for Cole Tomas Allen are pressing a federal judge to lift suicide precautions they say have stripped the 31-year-old Torrance, California, man of basic access to family and jail resources while he awaits trial in a case tied to an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.

Allen was arraigned on April 27, 2026, in U.S. District Court on charges including attempted assassination of the president, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. Prosecutors say he traveled by train from the Los Angeles area to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C., arriving on April 24, after reserving a room at the Washington Hilton on April 6 for April 24-26, a timeline that authorities say points to weeks of planning.

The shooting unfolded on April 25 outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton, where federal officials say Allen stormed a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun. The Justice Department and FBI say a Secret Service officer was shot but survived because he was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, while Trump, Melania Trump, other dignitaries and guests were evacuated safely. The incident threw one of Washington’s highest-profile political events into chaos and triggered fresh scrutiny of security around the hotel and the annual dinner.

In the latest filing, Allen’s lawyers said he was initially placed in a safe cell on April 27 and later downgraded to suicide precautions. They said the restrictions still kept him from making phone calls, receiving visits from anyone other than legal counsel and spending most of his time outside his cell. The lawyers said a nurse recommended on Friday that the precautions end, but the status remained in place as of that day. They argue the measure amounts to punishment and blocks Allen from using a jail tablet to communicate with loved ones.

The case has now become a test of how federal authorities balance humane treatment, mental-health monitoring and the security demands of housing a defendant accused of trying to kill a sitting president. The FBI said video released April 30 showed the alleged shooter engaging with security at the dinner and casing the Hilton the day before the attack, details that deepen the stakes for jail officials deciding how much access a defendant should have while a national-security case moves forward.