The FBI says DC bombing suspect Brian Cole continued to buy bomb parts after Jan. 6.
Federal agents in Thursday announced the arrest of a suspect accused of using two pipe bombs discovered near the US Congress building on the eve of January 6, 2021. Authorities identified the man as Brian J. Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia. The arrest is a major break in a case that has plagued authorities for nearly five years.
Cole, 30, is charged with carrying an explosive device across state lines with intent to kill, injure, intimidate or destroy property, and attempting to damage and destroy the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees using an explosive device. If convicted, he faces the prospect of decades in prison.
According to an affidavit, investigators linked Cole to the bombs through a combination of surveillance footage, historical cell location data and years of purchase records that showed he had purchased every major component used to build the devices. Deputies allege that Cole obtained the same model of galvanized pipe, matching end caps, and nine-volt connectors, among other things, at several hardware stores in Northern Virginia in 2019 and 2020.
Agents allege that after discovering his bombs at the Capitol, Cole listed the purchase of a white kitchen timer and two 9-volt batteries from Walmart on Jan. 21, as well as galvanized pipes from Home Depot the next day.
Senior Trump administration officials quickly cited the arrest as a vindication for their leadership, claiming the case had gone cold. Attorney-General Pam Bundy said she hoped the arrest would restore public confidence after what she described as a “complete lack of momentum” in a case that has been “over four years”. In their words, this development suggests that the case will only move forward when they are empowered, in the words of FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, to “go get the bad guys” and stop “focusing on the extraneous stuff.”
“Although almost five years have passed, our team continues to review the vast amount of data and leads we used to identify this suspect,” said Darren Cox, FBI Assistant Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation.
The bombs were planted near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees on the night of January 5, 2021, as Congress prepared to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump. Both failed to detonate, but their discovery the next day added to the chaos and confusion as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building, causing millions of dollars in damage and injuring approximately 140 metropolitan and congressional police officers.
