Pipe-Bomb Suspect Charged Over Devices Found Before Jan. 6 Riot

A Virginia man has been charged with placing pipe bombs outside Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, capping a five-year investigation that stymied federal authorities.

A criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday charged Brian J. Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, with transporting explosive devices and attempting “malicious destruction.” Cole was arrested earlier in the day by the FBI.

The arrest marks a watershed moment in an unsolved case that gripped the nation’s capital. The FBI has said the bombs were planted the night of Jan. 5 but weren’t found until the next day, around the time that large crowds of Donald Trump’s supporters descended on the US Capitol as Congress met to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win.

The devices didn’t explode but the discovery generated conspiracy theories about who placed them and why.

The criminal complaint doesn’t include details about Cole’s motivations or political leanings and US officials didn’t share information about his background.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference Thursday that the arrest came after agents combed through already existing data gathered over the course of five years.

Pam Bondi, US attorney general, center, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington on Dec. 4.

Photographer: Alex Kent/Bloomberg

“There was no new tip. There was no new witness,” Bondi said. She added that the investigation is ongoing and “there could be more charges to come.”

Bomb ‘Components’

Investigators alleged that Cole bought materials “consistent with the components” used to make the two pipe bombs from various retail stores in 2019 and 2020, including pipes, end caps, battery connectors, electrical wire, steel wool, and kitchen-style timers, according to the court filing.

According to the complaint, a mobile phone linked to Cole connected to cell towers around the RNC and DNC buildings the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, around the time surveillance footage showed an individual walking near the area where the pipe bombs were found. Authorities also said that license plate readers captured a car registered to Cole in the area that night.

Earlier in the investigation, authorities said they interviewed about 1,000 people, combed through more than 39,000 video files and chased hundreds of tips.

Darren Cox, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Washington field office, said that it was through the resolve and determination of investigators that Cole was identified and arrested. He said his team continued to churn through massive amounts of data and tips.

“We dove into more than 3 million lines of data to come up with this suspect,” Cox said.

The destruction charge carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years, while the transport offense carries as many as 10 years.

Cole is expected to make his first appearance before a judge at the federal courthouse in Washington on Friday afternoon.

--With assistance from Benjamin Penn.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Chris Strohm in Washington at cstrohm1@bloomberg.net;
Zoe Tillman in Washington at ztillman2@bloomberg.net;
Myles Miller in New York at mmiller899@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Elizabeth Wasserman at ewasserman2@bloomberg.net

Steve Stroth

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