FBI Arrests Potential Suspect In Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Case
One of the enduring mysteries of the nightmare that was Jan. 6, 2021, is who planted the pipe bombs that were found throughout Washington, D.C., on the evening before the Capitol Riot. After a nearly five-year-long investigation, the FBI has finally arrested a suspect in the case.
According to AP, the FBI arrested Brian Cole on Thursday morning in Virginia. While his identity has been revealed, there are still plenty of details yet to be released to the public, including what Cole will be charged with. Despite receiving hundreds of tips, conducting plenty of interviews, and reviewing thousands of video files, the FBI struggled for years to identify a suspect in the case. Until today, we didn’t even know if the suspect was a man or a woman.
On the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, a masked person was seen placing pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee offices. The pipe bombs never went off, no one was injured, but the FBI said the devices would’ve been lethal.
Because we live in totally normal times, the lack of any real information about the suspect has led to several conspiracy theories being propagated by right-wing media outlets and Republican politicians over the last four years. Some folks speculated that the pipe bombs were planted by Democratic operatives to set up President Donald Trump’s supporters. NBC News reports that as recently as last month, the FBI debunked a conspiracy theory that the pipe bombs were planted by a former Capitol police officer.
The pipe bombs were a focal point for House Republicans, who formed a committee to rewrite history regarding the Capitol riot. The House Republicans were critical of security lapses surrounding the pipe bombs and questioned why it took 17 hours for the pipe bombs to be found.
The case became a focal point for FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Director Kash Patel (It will always be insane to me that two podcasters are in charge of the FBI.) During his tenure as a podcast host, Bongino floated the idea that the pipe bombs were an “inside job” and involved a “massive cover-up.”
Bongino and Patel have been openly critical of how the investigation was previously handled, with Bongino posting on X last month about how he and Patel had brought in new personnel for the case, “dramatically increased investigative resources,” and increased the public award for information “to utilize crowd-sourcing leads.”
The FBI’s investigation paired surveillance video of the suspect with digital records from the surrounding area. They subpoenaed several tech and cell phone companies to see what phones were active in the areas where the pipe bombs were placed.
Credit card data was another significant factor in the investigation. The FBI examined transactions at hobby shops and several major retailers to identify customers who purchased items similar to the ones used to make the pipe bombs. Interestingly, the shoes worn by the suspect were also a key part of the investigation.
The FBI believed the suspect was wearing a pair of Nike Air Max Speed Turfs. This resulted in subpoenas being issued to retailers like Foot Locker to identify customers who may have purchased the shoes in the area.
While Jan. 6 will forever be one of many dark stains in American history, hopefully Cole’s arrest will put to bed one of the enduring mysteries of that horrifying day.
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