The man charged with planting pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican Party headquarters in January 2021 told the FBI he believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen, according to multiple reports.
According to NBC News and CNN, investigators say Brian Cole Jr., 30, expressed belief in election-related conspiracy theories during FBI interviews, offering what could be the first publicly reported indication of a potential motive for the devices left outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, hours before the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Cole was charged Thursday with explosives-related offenses, including transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials, according to court documents.
He is expected to make his first appearance in Washington federal court Friday.
Authorities have said the pipe bombs were discovered on Jan. 6 and safely deactivated before detonation, but their placement triggered emergency responses at a moment when law enforcement resources were already stretched thin.
The devices drew significant police attention during the broader crisis unfolding at the Capitol.
Investigators have not publicly assigned a definitive motive for the alleged bombing attempt.
From a conservative perspective, the case underlines a core principle: Peaceful political disagreement is protected in America, but violence and intimidation are not.
Whether aimed at Republicans, Democrats, or any civic institution, political violence is an attack on the constitutional system itself, and those responsible should face swift, equal justice.
Officials said the arrest followed a rereview of evidence rather than a sudden new tip.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Newsmax on Thursday that Cole's arrest proved what he and others long believed, that the Biden administration allowed critical evidence to sit untouched for years, forcing the incoming Trump team to rebuild the investigation from the ground up.
Patel said Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino assembled a nationwide team of specialists who were ordered to rescrub the massive trove of digital data, reexamine leads, and rebuild what he suggested had been a stalled or neglected probe.
The pipe bomb investigation has lingered for years and spawned widespread speculation online. The Guardian noted it became a magnet for conspiracy theories while remaining one of the most high-profile unresolved threads connected to Jan. 6, until this week's charges.
Newsmax Wires contributed to this report.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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