Developments in the "Reporters' Dinner" case: Judicial request to lift suicide restrictions

Lawyers for the defendant accused of attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump during an official press event last week asked a judge to lift the suicide prevention measures imposed on their client while he is detained in a Washington prison.

Cole Thomas Allen faces charges of breaching a security checkpoint and firing a rifle in front of a White House Correspondents' Dinner on 25 April.

His lawyers stated in a memo to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that Allen was placed – when first detained on 27 April – in a "secure cell" described as a padded room subject to 24-hour lockdown procedures and required to wear a "restraint-like vest."

The memo stated that this status was subsequently eased to "suicide prevention measures," which means Allen is still prohibited from making phone calls or receiving visits from anyone except his legal team, or spending time outside his cell except during legal visits or bathing, and accompanied by a guard.

The memo noted that a nursing staff member recommended on Friday ending those measures, but they were still in effect until a public defense attorney visited him that day.

Allen faces charges of attempted assassination, firing a weapon during a violent crime, and illegally transporting weapons and ammunition across state lines. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges against him.