Suspect in DC Pipe Bomb Case Ordered Detained Before Trial (2)

The Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs near national political committee offices in January 2021 must be detained while awaiting trial, a Washington federal judge ruled.

Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found on Friday that Brian Cole Jr., 30, could pose a threat to the community if release pending trial, citing his conduct in the months following the incident five years ago.

The court “lacks confidence that even the most rigorous set of release conditions can reasonably guard against the risk of future danger,” Sharbaugh wrote.

Cole is facing charges for allegedly placing explosive devices near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committee offices on January 5, 2021, the day before supporters of President Donald Trump rioted at the US Capitol during the certification of the 2020 election.

The devices didn’t detonate and were discovered a day later. The incident spurred a multiyear federal investigation and conspiracy theories.

The judge reasoned in a 19-page decision that the charges offenses are “gravely serious,” and the defense’s efforts “to minimize the offense” because the devices didn’t detonate and no one was injured are “decidedly unpersuasive.”

If the devices has exploded as planned, the results could have been devastating, the judge wrote, including by “creating a greater sense of terror on the eve of a high-security Congressional proceeding, causing serious property damage in the heart of Washington, D.C., grievously injuring DNC or RNC staff and other innocent bystanders, or worse.”

Sharbaugh found that the government had strong evidence against Cole. He also noted that Cole continued to purchase items that could be used in explosive devices until August 2022, and those materials were in his closet and car when he was arrested.

Friday’s decision represents a setback for Cole’s defense attorneys, who had argued he didn’t pose a threat to the community and should be held in home confinement, with monitoring conditions, before trial.

Cole’s defense lawyer, Mario Williams, told the judge during a Dec. 30 detention hearing that Cole has autism and obsessive compulsive disorder, worked for his family business for years, and largely kept to the same routine everyday.

“He’s not dangerous, and they know it,” he said.

Charles Jones, a prosecutor with the Washington US attorney’s office, argued at the Dec. 30 hearing that there should be a presumption of pretrial detention because his alleged crime relates to terrorism. He also claimed that Cole had demonstrated a pattern of “disturbing conduct” and “comprehensive deception” since the alleged offenses.

Bomb charges

Prosecutors said that Cole confessed to the charged crimes during an hours-long interview with federal investigators after he was arrested in early December.

Cole told investigators that his decision to place the bombs was unrelated to the certification of the presidential election happening the next day. He said he placed the bombs because “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just everything getting worse,” and that he didn’t like either political party, according to a government court filing.

Cole also said his decision to use pipe bombs was inspired by the Troubles in Northern Ireland, prosecutors said.

Cole hasn’t yet entered a plea in the case. Sharbaugh also agreed on Friday to accept an indictment the federal government secured in Washington’s superior court, on the understanding that the government obtains a federal grand jury indictment once those panels reconvene.

Sharbaugh previously held off on deciding that issue and asked both sides to weigh in, given recent court rulings on prosecutors’ recent moves to allow local grand juries to indict federal crimes.

In a statement, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said, “This order to hold the defendant protects the community as the judicial process plays out. Public safety must always come first.”

The case is USA v. Cole, D.D.C., No. 1:25-mj-00276, 1/2/26