Judge Zia Faruqui, a D.C. magistrate, apologized to White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Tomas Allen. Allen is the “alleged” would-be assassin of President Trump and other officials. This is one of the more ridiculous use of “alleged”: technically appropriate because he is “presumed innocent,” ridiculous because he was caught on camera, apprehended at the scene, and wrote a message describing what he intended to do and why.
Judge Faruqui apologized for what he called the “legally deficient” treatment Allen received in jail, where the shooter was placed on suicide watch, separated from other inmates, and denied access to a Bible.
“Whatever you’ve been through, I apologize,” the judge said, adding, “Right now, it’s not working. It’s insufficient. I think it’s legally deficient.”
Jeanine Pirro, United States attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote on X, “Welcome to Washington, DC, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Faruqui believes a defendant armed to the teeth and attempting to assassinate the President is entitled to preferential treatment in his confinement compared to every other defendant.” Faruqui compared Allen’s treatment with that of the January 6, 2021 rioters at the US Capitol, as he claimed they were treated more fairly despite displaying what the judge called comparable conduct. “I’m fascinated and disturbed,” he said.
So am I. That anyone could compare a failed Presidential assassin to those drunken fools who stormed the Capitol is indeed disturbing. The suggestion reeks of the false Axis “insurrection” narrative. There is no valid comparison to be made. As many have pointed out, Allen’s pre-attack message made it clear that he was expecting to die in his planned assault. Suicide watch was an obvious precaution, and so was keeping him isolated. Actual and would-be Presidential assassins who died before trial have caused confusion, conspiracy theories and chaos.
Suggesting an equivalency between angry MAGA boobs who thought they were trying to stop a corrupted election result and someone out to murder the President is smoking gun evidence of wild partisan bias. “You right-wingers trespassed and fought with the police, and we Trump Deranged tried to murder the President and his Cabinet. What’s the difference?” Ask Abe Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and Jack Kennedy, jerk.
We have a frightening level of incompetent, biased, unethical judges in the U.S. Surveys show that public trust in the judiciary is cratering. That’s a dangerous trend, but based on how judges have been behaving lately, it is a justified one.
Ethics Alarms 
What the actual….doesn’t the JUDGE understand that there is a transcript?
I am surprised you did not mention any judicial canons.
if I were a prosecutor, I would not want this judge to be involved in sentencing.
if he apologized for the conditions of jail, how can he be trusted to sentence this guy to prison.
-Jut
Jut, I don’t see this foolishness as the kind of slam-dunk bias judges get called on.
maybe not slam dunk. I have reported judges occasionally, always unsuccessfully, always justified. Judges need reminders, even if the powers that be vindicate them
but, it implicates the appearance of impartiality.
the Judge apologizes because jail sucks?
had the same feelings about the Sconnie judge who helped the illegal immigrant evade immigration enforcement.
it is indicative of favoritism that Judges should avoid.
a slam dunk is the low bar. Professionals should set their bar high above the low bar.
I agree. I am currently jaded by being given the run-around recently by the DC Bar on a complaint I filed regarding an unethical and criminal lawyer.
My only though is that the judge was trying to blunt a constitutional right violation claim by grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns but it came off in a ham-fisted sort of way where the judge looks like he is sympathetic to the accused and his purported plight.
jvb