Nearly four years after two pipe bombs were found outside the outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the January 6 riots, the FBI has arrested a suspect.
Agents arrested 30-year-old Brian J. Cole Jr. at his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, this week, charging him with at least two federal felony charges, after a fresh look at the stalled case.
While the FBI has not revealed any information about a possible motive, there are media reports suggesting Cole may have believed Donald Trump’s false claims about being cheated out of victory in the 2020 election.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that federal prosecutors have charged Cole with the use of an explosive device. Additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.
The bombs, made from 1x8-inch threaded galvanized pipes, end caps, kitchen timers, wires, metal clips, and homemade black powder, were discovered around the same time pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“Let me be clear: There was no new tip, there was no new witness. Just good diligent police work and prosecutorial work,” Bondi said Thursday.
But who exactly is Brian Cole Jr – and what motivated him to allegedly carry out the plan on the eve of the riots?
Who Is Brian Cole Jr.?
According to the FBI, Cole is a bail bondsman who had been living with his mother and other family members in the Woodbridge home.
His height – 5ft 6in – is consistent with the FBI’s earlier estimate of the suspect being about 5ft 7in.
Cole graduated from Hyland High School in 2013 and worked in the office of a Northern Virginia bail bondsman, according to court records.
Neighbors described him as someone who kept to himself.
“He was quiet,” neighbor Jesenia Lopez told WUSA9. “I just know that every time we would see him, he’d walk around his dog.”
A relative reached by phone told WUSA9 that “he didn’t do it,” adding only that he wasn’t responsible for the crime and that “he’s more like a child.”
Cole reportedly told FBI he believed 2020 election conspiracy theories
Two people familiar with the investigation told NBC News that Cole told agents he believed the conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Trump has repeatedly claimed the 2020 election was “rigged,” despite losing the electoral college by 232 votes to Joe Biden’s 306 – and losing the popular vote 74 million to Biden’s 81 million. Those false claims factored into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the election which resulted in criminal charges against Trump. Those charges were dismissed once Trump was re-elected in 2024.
Smith wrote that Trump “inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence” by spreading “demonstrably and, in many cases, obviously false” claims.
A breakthrough in a years-long investigation
For years, the FBI publicly sought help identifying the individual captured on surveillance footage placing the devices. The person’s gender was unclear, and the bureau said it could not determine whether the act was connected to the January 6 riots.
In October, the FBI increased the reward for information to $500,000 and released footage of a hooded figure wearing black-and-gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow swoosh – a model the FBI said fewer than 25,000 people had purchased.
Despite thousands of leads, investigators struggled to find a suspect until a renewed push this year.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday that agents “re-examined every piece of evidence” and “sifted through all the data,” not relying on tips or witness testimony.
Evidence the FBI says points to Cole
A newly unsealed FBI affidavit outlines the evidence federal investigators say connects Cole to the crime.
According to the affidavit viewed by The Independent, Cole’s checking account and six credit cards show purchases between 2019 and 2020 of materials consistent with the devices left at the DNC and RNC – which include galvanized pipes, end caps, battery connectors, kitchen timers, wires, and homemade black powder ingredients.
The FBI previously described the devices as “viable,” saying they “could have seriously injured or killed innocent bystanders.”
Cole’s cellphone reportedly connected to Washington-area cell towers seven times between 7:39 p.m. and 8:24 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021. The towers included coverage areas for both the DNC and RNC headquarters.
Those timestamps align with surveillance footage showing the person planting the bombs.
About 20 minutes before the planting was captured on video, a license plate reader scanned Cole’s vehicle as he exited I-395 onto South Capitol Street, less than 1.5 miles from the bomb locations.
The FBI also noted Cole had visited the area several weeks earlier, eating at a restaurant nearby on December 14, 2020.
What happens next?
Cole was arrested Thursday morning as FBI tactical vehicles and agents surrounded a Woodbridge home.
A neighbor described seeing “two green Humvee-looking vehicles” and “a lot of men in camouflage with automatic rifles aimed at the house.” Two women exited the house before Cole was taken into custody.
“We were going to track this person to the end of the Earth; we're not going to let him get away,” Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said on Thursday. “We didn't have to go to the end of the Earth; he was in Woodbridge.”
Cole appeared in court on Friday afternoon where he declined to enter a plea, CNN reported.
Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya set a detention hearing for December 15, where prosecutors will seek for Cole to be detained ahead of his trial.
“Mr. Cole, the next step in your case is you’re going to come back to court for your detention hearing,” the judge said.
Cole is charged with unlawful transportation of an explosive device in interstate commerce with the intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, as well as malicious destruction or attempt of malicious destruction. Each count carries a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison.
