Pipe bomb suspect said he believed 2020 election was stolen, was supportive of Trump

By Carrie Johnson,

Published December 4, 2025 at 8:50 AM CST

Federal agents have arrested a suspect identified as Brian Cole they are alleging placed two pipe bombs, which never exploded, the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. FBI agents gather in front of the suspect's home Thursday in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Updated December 5, 2025 at 5:10 PM CST

The man authorities say is responsible for placing two pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol complex in 2021 told investigators he believed conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen from then-President Trump, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The FBI on Thursday arrested Brian J. Cole Jr., 30, and charged him with transportation of an explosive device via interstate commerce, and attempted malicious destruction by means of an explosive device, according to an arrest warrant filed in his case.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the investigation continues and more charges may be added.

The FBI has spent years searching for the person who put bombs near the Democratic and Republican committee headquarters, hours before a mob of Trump supporters assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Department of Justice said Cole spoke to law enforcement for more than four hours on Thursday in a custodial interview. He expressed views supportive of Trump, and said he believed the 2020 conspiracy theories, according to the person familiar with the investigation, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

A poster reads "ARRESTED" in bold letters as Attorney General Pam Bondi (third from the right), accompanied by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro (from left), Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood, FBI Director Kash Patel, and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, speaks during a news conference on an arrest of a suspect in the Jan. 6 pipe bomb case at the Department of Justice on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Cole spoke to investigators after his arrest at his home in Woodbridge, Va., that he shares with his mother and other family members, about 30 miles from Washington, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.

New leaders at the FBI and the Justice Department intensified their focus on the case this year amid intense pressure to solve the crime, including from Trump's political base.

"Today's arrest happened because the Trump administration made this case a priority," Bondi said at a press conference on Thursday. "This cold case languished for four years, until Director [Kash] Patel and Deputy Director [Dan] Bongino came to the FBI."

Bondi declined to comment on the suspect's political or any other motivations.

Cole made his first court appearance on Friday. He wore a beige jumpsuit and glasses, and answered questions from the judge.

The next hearing in the case will be a pretrial detention hearing on Dec. 15.

"Millions" of pieces of data

Bondi said the FBI had no new tips or new witnesses but just relied on "diligent" police and prosecutorial work to identify the suspect. The FBI had previously also set a $500,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a suspect.

"We are working every day to restore the public's trust. We are hoping today is a significant step toward that progress," Bondi said at the presser.

"We solved it," FBI Director Patel said, adding that the suspect will still have his day in court.

The FBI affidavit said Cole purchased components that could have been used to make the pipe bombs, including electrical wire, steel wool, battery connectors and parts to close the end of a pipe.

Court papers also say a cell phone tied to Cole pinged cell towers near the RNC and DNC the night the bombs were placed. And a license plate reader near the area captured his car, a Nissan Sentra, that evening.

"This case involved millions of pieces of data, and it is a huge win, because it was like finding a needle in a haystack," said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. For example, she said investigators looked at 233,000 purchases of black end caps of the type that was used to make the bomb in the attack.

Investigators declined to comment on the specific piece of forensic evidence that led them to name the suspect.

Jan. 6 timeline

The discovery of the bombs occurred at a critical moment in 2021 — the first was discovered just before the initial breach of rioters at the Peace Circle near the Capitol, and then the second was found as Proud Boys helped flood the Capitol's west front and the fighting was intensifying.

"If those pipe bombs were intended to be a diversion, plainly speaking, it worked," Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton told Congress in 2021.

Former USCP Chief Steven Sund wrote in his book that the discovery of the bombs diverted attention and resources at critical moments: "I believe the timing and placement of these devices were deliberate diversionary tactics, intended to divert significant resources away from securing the Capitol, which they succeeded in doing."

Before joining the FBI as deputy director, Bongino spread conspiracies about the bomber, and said it must've been an "inside job" by the government.

NPR's Tom Dreisbach contributed to this report.