D.C. Pipe Bomb Suspect Went Unnoticed in Police Stop a Year Before Arrest
Federal prosecutors have charged a Virginia man in connection with the unsolved pipe bomb attack outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and newly released footage shows the suspect in a routine police encounter more than a year before his arrest.
Scripps News on Friday published body-camera video from an April 2024 traffic stop involving Brian J. Cole Jr., who was arrested earlier this month and accused of planting two viable pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021.
The footage shows Cole calmly speaking with a Virginia police officer after his vehicle rear-ended a pickup truck driven by an 84-year-old man. No injuries were reported, and Cole received a citation for following too closely, according to court records. At the time, there was no indication the officer knew Cole was a suspect in a major federal investigation.
Prosecutors say Cole is responsible for placing pipe bombs outside the headquarters of both major political parties the night before the Capitol attack. The devices were discovered the following afternoon and prompted evacuations, including that of then–Vice President-elect Kamala Harris from the Democratic National Committee building. The bombs did not detonate but were deemed functional.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed after Cole’s arrest on Dec. 4, investigators tied him to the devices using a combination of purchase records for bomb-making components, cell phone location data placing his phone near both party headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, and license plate reader data tracking his vehicle near the area.
Authorities have not publicly identified a motive, and the investigation remains ongoing. Cole has been charged with transporting explosives across state lines and attempted malicious destruction of property using explosives. A detention hearing is scheduled later this month.
The Scripps footage offers one of the clearest looks yet at Cole’s appearance and demeanor in the years between the alleged attack and his arrest, highlighting how the suspect lived largely unnoticed while one of the most significant unresolved cases tied to Jan. 6 remained open.
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