FBI Arrests Suspect in Long-Unsolved January 6 Pipe Bomb Case

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a man in Virginia who officials believe planted pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the night before January 6, 2021, according to reports from several news outlets.Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday identified the suspect as Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old man from Woodbridge, Virginia. She stated that he was charged with use of an explosive device but that “there could be more charges to come.” Ms. Bondi said that his arrest was not a result of a “new tip” or a “new witness” but “just good diligent police work and prosecutorial work.”“Today’s arrest happened because the Trump administration has made this case a priority,” the attorney general stated. “The total lack of movement on this case in our nation’s capital undermined the public trust of our enforcement agencies.”Ms. Bondi offered no details on who the suspect is or what his motivation may have been for planting the devices. According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reviewed by USA TODAY, Mr. Cole lives in a home with his mother and other family members.The arrest caps a nearly five-year investigation into the identity of a suspect captured on surveillance cameras placing the explosive devices just blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The footage showed an individual wearing a hooded sweatshirt, a mask, and Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers.The bombs were discovered 15 hours after being planted and were disabled before detonation. Law enforcement officers were diverted to the scene just minutes before crowds of President Trump’s supporters descended upon the Capitol to protest the 2020 election results.The FBI determined that the bombs were viable and could have caused “serious injury or death” had they detonated. On the morning of January 6, Vice President Kamala Harris came within 20 feet of the device placed outside the DNC, according to a Department of Homeland Security report.The timing of the bomb placement fueled conspiracy theories about the suspect’s potential political motivations and possible connection to the Capitol riot. The FBI offered a $500,000 reward for information about the suspect and pursued more than 600 tips from the public.The investigation’s failure to identify a suspect drew scrutiny from Republicans, including FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who suggested the bombs were an “inside job.”“There is a massive cover-up, because the person who planted those pipe bombs — they don’t want you to know who it was, because it’s either a connected anti-Trump insider, or this was an inside job,” Mr. Bongino said on The Dan Bongino Show in November 2024. “Those bombs were planted there. This was a setup. I have zero doubt.”

FBI Arrests Suspect in Long-Unsolved January 6 Pipe Bomb Case

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