Suspect accused of planting pipe bombs on eve of January 6 faces new charges

The individual accused of placing pipe bombs near the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic national committees on the night before the January 6 Capitol attack is now facing two more felony counts, as detailed in a newly released indictment on Wednesday.

Brian Cole Jr, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, had previously been arrested in December and charged with transporting and positioning two improvised explosive devices outside the DNC and RNC buildings. The updated indictment introduces charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction and carrying out an act of terrorism while armed.

Although the devices never exploded, the FBI has stated they were functional. For years, the investigation remained unsolved, with officials from the Trump administration emphasizing that resolving the case was a major priority.

Cole initially entered a not guilty plea to the original charges, though he has yet to be formally arraigned on the new ones. In January, a judge ordered that he remain in custody ahead of his trial, with a memorandum opinion from the court concluding that Cole “poses an intolerable risk of danger to the community if released”, leading to approval of the government’s request for pre-trial detention.

The judge further stated that “there are no conditions of release the court could impose to reasonably assure the safety of the community”, rejecting defense proposals that Cole could be monitored under home confinement with GPS tracking.

Court documents filed last year revealed that Cole told investigators he believed the 2020 election had been interfered with and that “someone needs to speak up”. During an interview, authorities said he “walked the interviewing agents in detail through his construction, transportation, and planting of the pipe bombs”.

According to the filings, when agents pressed Cole on his motive, he said that “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just everything getting worse”.

Cole reportedly also told investigators he did not intend to target the joint session of Congress during the attack. On that day, supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, halting the certification of electoral votes and delaying the formal confirmation of the 2020 election outcome. Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election.

Investigators say Cole explained that he traveled to Washington to protest about the election results and aimed his actions at both political parties because “they were in charge”. When questioned about why he chose both party headquarters, he responded: “I really don’t like either party at this point.”

It has been over five years since Trump first falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen and the 2021 US Capitol attack on 6 January occurred shortly after, but the legal fallout is still being managed. Last month, a Florida handyman who had been convicted of storming the US Capitol but was pardoned by Trump, was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children.