FBI arrests Brian Cole Jr. for 2021 pipe bombs after evidence sat in files for 4 years

FBI arrested Brian Cole Jr., 30, from Woodbridge, Virginia, on Dec. 4, 2025, for planting pipe bombs at DNC and RNC headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, hours before the Capitol attack. Cole is charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. AG Pam Bondi stated there was no new tip or witness—just investigators reviewing evidence that had been sitting at the FBI since 2021-2022. NBC News sources confirmed the suspect could feasibly have been arrested years earlier using the same evidence, raising questions about why the Biden DOJ waited 4 years to bring charges.

Cole purchased bomb-making components from Home Depot and Walmart throughout 2019-2020 and continued buying materials even after Jan. 5, 2021. FBI records show he bought galvanized pipes the same size and shape as those used in the devices, end caps, battery connectors, two white kitchen-style timers, electrical wire, and steel wool. He also purchased safety glasses, sandpaper, protective gloves, and disinfecting wipes in the months leading up to the attack. The pipe bombs were made from 1x8-inch pipes, kitchen timers, and homemade black powder. The devices did not detonate but FBI called them viable and warned they could have killed or injured people.

Cell phone tower records placed Cole's phone in the area of the RNC and DNC on Jan. 5, 2021, with seven data sessions engaging towers near both buildings that evening. License plate readers captured Cole's 2017 Nissan Sentra driving past a location less than half a mile from where the suspect was first observed on foot, about 24 minutes after surveillance footage showed the bomber. Surveillance video released by FBI shows a person wearing a face mask, black gloves, and gray hoodie placing a bomb outside DNC around 7:54 p.m. ET on Jan. 5, then placing a second bomb by RNC offices about 22 minutes later.

Cole told investigators in a 4-hour custodial interview on Dec. 4 that he believed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, according to a person familiar with the investigation. FBI Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who led the investigation, said 'You're not going to walk into our capital city, put down two explosive devices and walk off in the sunset.' Bongino had claimed in a 2024 podcast episode that the pipe bomb was 'an inside job' to stop Trump, saying 'This was a setup. I have zero doubt.' He went back on those allegations after Cole's arrest.

The bombs were discovered roughly 15 hours after they were placed, on Jan. 6 as police were overwhelmed by rioters at the Capitol. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was inside the DNC headquarters at the time a pipe bomb was discovered nearby; she was evacuated from the premises by her Secret Service detail. The timing of the pipe-bomb placement made the case a hotbed of conspiracy theories. Last month, a conservative news site named a former U.S. Capitol Police officer as a possible match based on gait analysis; the FBI poured cold water on the story and the accused officer cleared her name by providing video of her playing with puppies at the time the bombs were placed.

FBI arrested Cole early Thursday morning at a residence in Woodbridge where he lives with his mother and other family members. Neighbors described seeing FBI tactical teams in camouflage with automatic rifles aimed at the house, hearing loudspeakers saying 'This is the FBI. We have a federal search warrant. Come out of the house with your hands up.' Cole works in a bail bondsman's office and graduated from high school in Prince William County, Virginia, in 2013. His step-grandfather Earl Donnette confirmed he spoke with the FBI but declined to comment further. FBI could be seen collecting items from cars parked outside the family home.

Cole made his first court appearance Dec. 5 wearing a beige jumpsuit and glasses. Relatives in court told him 'We love you, Brian' and 'We're here for you, baby.' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said investigators looked at 233,000 purchases of black end caps of the type used to make the bombs. Pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15. AG Bondi said the investigation continues, more charges may be added, and agents were still executing search warrants. The FBI had increased the reward for information from $100,000 to $500,000 in 2023. Trump pardoned the vast majority of nearly 1,600 people criminally charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.