The FBI on Thursday morning arrested a suspect accused of planting pipe bombs outdoors the Republican and Democratic occasion headquarters in Washington, D.C., previous to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the Trump administration stated.
The suspect, Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, is charged with “use of an explosive system,” U.S. Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi stated at a press briefing Thursday afternoon.
The investigation is ongoing and extra expenses might be filed, Bondi famous, including that search warrants are at present being executed.
A legal grievance unsealed after the briefing reveals Cole dealing with a cost of transporting an explosive system in interstate commerce with intent to kill, injure or intimidate or unlawfully destroy property.
Cole can be charged with “malicious destruction or tried malicious destruction by way of hearth and explosive supplies.”
A surveillance picture launched by the FBI reveals an individual in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. The FBI issued a discover, which options this surveillance picture, requesting data on individual(s) accountable for pipe bombs left on the Republican Nationwide Committee (RNC) and Democratic Nationwide Committee (DNC) headquarters.
FBI | Reuters
The arrest is a large breakthrough within the practically five-year federal investigation into who positioned the bombs, which didn’t detonate. The gadgets have been planted on the night of Jan. 5 and found round 1 p.m. ET the subsequent day.
“A person who’s now alleged to have positioned a number of explosive gadgets to explode a number of individuals and a number of officers [and] harmless civilians is now arrested,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated on the press briefing.
MS NOW, which reported the arrest earlier Thursday morning, stated police haven’t but decided a motive, citing a regulation enforcement official.
However two individuals briefed on the arrest informed MS NOW that the suspect has been linked to statements that present assist for an anarchist ideology.
Bondi, requested about Cole’s motivations on the briefing, would solely say that the DOJ’s probe is ongoing.
Prince William County Police block the road close to the home the place the FBI made an arrest, in Woodbridge, Va., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.
Steve Helber | AP
Cole is described as being a five-foot-six-inch-tall man who “wears corrective eyeglasses,” an unnamed FBI particular agent wrote in an affidavit in assist of the legal grievance.
He lives together with his mom and different relations and “works within the workplace of a bail bondsman in northern Virginia,” the agent wrote.
In 2019 and 2020, Cole allegedly purchased gadgets that matched the parts used to fabricate the pipe bombs, the FBI found after acquiring information for his checking account and three of his six bank cards.
The agent stated these gadgets included: one-inch-by-eight-inch galvanized pipes; black and galvanized “finish caps,” which have been used to seal the pipes; nine-volt battery connectors; white kitchen timers; and 14-gauge purple and black electrical wire.
The FBI additionally obtained telephone information that confirmed Cole’s cellphone within the space close to the Democratic and Republican Nationwide Committee buildings on Jan. 5, 2021, in line with the affidavit.
The identical night, Cole’s 2017 Nissan Sentra was noticed driving previous a license plate reader in D.C. lower than half a mile from the spot the place the suspect was first noticed on foot, the particular agent wrote.
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks throughout a information convention on the January sixth pipe bomber on the Division of Justice on December 4, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Photographs
The discoveries that led to the arrest didn’t come from new proof, however reasonably from the identical trove of fabric that had principally been gathered in 2021 and 2022, two sources informed MS NOW.
Which means the suspect might feasibly have been arrested years earlier — a reality that might trigger embarrassment for the FBI, these sources stated.
Patel, at Thursday’s presser, touted that the FBI underneath his management “didn’t uncover any new data.”
The company as an alternative “reexamined every bit of proof, sifted by all the info,” Patel stated, claiming that was “one thing that the prior administration refused and did not do.”
As lately as late October, the bureau was providing a $500,000 reward for data that may assist authorities establish the Capitol Hill bombing suspect.
A suspect within the planting of explosive gadgets close to the Democratic and Republican committee headquarters in Washington is seen strolling previous the Capitol Hill Membership, often known as the Nationwide Republican Membership of Capitol Hill, in Washington on this nonetheless body taken from video launched on March 9, 2021.
Handout | Reuters
Surveillance video launched by the FBI reveals that round 7:54 p.m. ET on Jan. 5, 2021, an individual carrying a face masks, black gloves and a grey hoodie positioned a bomb outdoors the DNC constructing.
About 22 minutes later, the identical individual appeared to put a second bomb by the RNC’s places of work, in line with the footage.
The incident occurred hours earlier than a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers ready to substantiate former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
A poster is displayed throughout a press convention with Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel in regards to the January sixth pipe bomber on the Division of Justice on December 4, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Photographs
The timing of the tried crime, and the elusiveness of the perpetrator, have made the case a hotbed of conspiracy theories.
Final month, a conservative information web site named a former U.S. Capitol Police officer as a attainable match for the pipe bomber, primarily based largely on a “gait evaluation.” The FBI poured chilly water on the story, and the accused officer cleared her title by offering a video of her enjoying along with her puppies on the time the bombs have been positioned, CBS Information reported.
The yearslong investigation was a precedence for the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Division and the U.S. Capitol Police.
Safety fencing stays put in across the Democratic Nationwide Committee (DNC) headquarters on November 16, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Photographs
By January, the FBI stated investigators and associated companions had visited greater than 1,200 residences and companies, interviewed over 1,000 individuals, reviewed practically 40,000 video recordsdata and assessed greater than 600 suggestions.
As a part of their seek for the bomber, the FBI subpoenaed bank card information from box-store retailers to establish individuals who purchased the identical sort of battery parts believed for use within the gadgets, MS NOW reported.
Brokers then in contrast these consumers with the homeowners of telephones tracked close to the RNC and DNC buildings across the time the bombs have been positioned — however discovered no matches, in line with MS NOW.
Additionally they analyzed the tried bomber’s clothes, submitting subpoenas for receipts from shoe sellers — and receiving a listing of just about 1,200 gross sales — after figuring out what they believed have been the suspect’s sneakers, MS NOW reported.
The suspect wore gentle grey Nike Air Max Velocity Turf footwear with a yellow brand, the FBI has stated.
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