Judge Apologizes in Court to Man Accused of Trying to Kill President Trump at WHCD

The man accused of trying to kill President Donald Trump just got something unexpected in court -- an apology.

Yeah, you read that right … a federal judge is sticking up for the alleged would-be assassin and blasting jail officials over how he's been treated behind bars.

Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui didn't hold back Monday ... telling the court he was "disturbed" by the conditions faced by Cole Allen -- the 31-year-old accused of trying to infiltrate the White House Correspondents' Dinner to take out Trump and other top officials.

Allen was slapped on suicide watch after his arrest -- meaning he was locked down 24/7 in a so-called "safe cell," cut off from phone calls and visits (outside of his lawyers), and allegedly couldn't even get a Bible despite asking multiple times.

Prosecutors tried to justify the extreme measures ... claiming Allen could be a danger to himself after he allegedly told investigators he didn't expect to survive the attack -- but the judge wasn't buying it.

Instead, Faruqui drew a sharp comparison to defendants in the January 6 Capitol Riot … pointing out he's never seen those cases involve 5-point restraints or such restrictive confinement -- especially for someone with no prior criminal history.

Then came the jaw-dropper ... Faruqui turned to Allen and apologized directly in court ... saying the system is supposed to ensure fairness, not pile on punishment before trial.

"Mr. Allen, I'm sorry that things have not been the way they are supposed to," he said, according to Fox News.

The judge also made it clear he's not letting this slide ... ordering jail officials to update him ASAP on Allen's housing situation and pushing to move him into a less restrictive unit with windows, proper legal access and basic accommodations.

The heated hearing came even after Allen's attorneys backed off a motion challenging his confinement -- saying he'd already been taken off suicide watch -- but Faruqui still forced everyone into court, signaling he's got "grave concerns" about how this all went down.