After five years FBI agents have arrested a man who allegedly placed pipe bombs in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021, officials announced yesterday. Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old from Woodbridge, Virginia was arrested based on reinvestigating evidence the Biden administration failed to pursue.
Cole is accused of placing bombs consisting of a pipe, endcaps, electrical wire, a battery, and other materials near Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee buildings in Washington. He was charged with transporting explosive devices in interstate commerce and attempted destruction with explosive material.
It is alleged Cole purchased items such as pipe and kitchen timers in 2019 and 2020 at stores, including Home Depot and Walmart, and used these materials to manufacture the devices, according to records obtained by investigators and described in an affidavit filed in federal court in support of the charges.
The Epoch Times reported cellphone records placed Cole in the vicinity of the buildings on Jan. 5, 2021, and a Nissan Sentra he owns was spotted driving in the area that evening, an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.
“Today’s arrest happened because the Trump administration has made this case a priority,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a briefing in the nation’s capital, during which she and FBI Director Kash Patel scorched the Biden administration, especially former FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“There was no new tip, there was no new witness, just good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work,” she noted in the briefing.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at the briefing that there was no new information but that a new team of investigators and experts had sifted through existing evidence and generated new leads that ultimately resulted in Cole’s arrest.
Patel said 3 million “lines of information” were pored over and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the investigation included going through 233,000 sales of the type of black endcaps used to build the bombs and find a common link with purchases of pipe, wires, and other materials.
Patel said on X on Dec. 4: “When Dan Bongino and I came to the FBI in March, the pipe bomb investigation had been stalled for going on 5 years. We rebuilt it from scratch—re-running every lead, re-testing every piece of evidence, bringing in top experts, and deploying new technology to engineer the break that finally nailed the suspect.”
A congressional report revealed that the FBI during the Biden administration began "diverting resources" away from the investigation at the end of February 2021, after less than two months.
Harshly criticizing her Democrat predecessors, Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference announcing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr. that existing evidence led to the FBI’s breakthrough in a cold case that had "languished" for nearly five years.
"What I will tell you is that evidence has been sitting there collecting dust," Bondi said. "This wasn't a new tip. It wasn't some new evidence. It was the hard work of President Trump's administration."
Bondi said federal investigators were able to identify Cole after spending months "sifting through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI with the Biden administration." She said bringing charges against Cole was not a result of any new witnesses or leads but rather "good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work," reported FOX News.
At a news conference, Bongino said he made the pipe bomb case a top priority after he told FOX News in May the bureau was "closing in" on suspects.
"I spoke with Ms. Bondi very early, maybe day two, and I said, ‘We’re going to get this guy.’ She said, ‘Yes, you are.’ And we did," Bongino said Thursday.
"You're not going to walk into our capital city, put down two explosive devices and walk off in the sunset. Not going to happen," Bongino said. "There was no way he was getting away."
Cole is accused of placing bombs consisting of a pipe, endcaps, electrical wire, a battery, and other materials near Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee buildings in Washington. He was charged with transporting explosive devices in interstate commerce and attempted destruction with explosive material.
It is alleged Cole purchased items such as pipe and kitchen timers in 2019 and 2020 at stores, including Home Depot and Walmart, and used these materials to manufacture the devices, according to records obtained by investigators and described in an affidavit filed in federal court in support of the charges.
The Epoch Times reported cellphone records placed Cole in the vicinity of the buildings on Jan. 5, 2021, and a Nissan Sentra he owns was spotted driving in the area that evening, an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.
“Today’s arrest happened because the Trump administration has made this case a priority,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a briefing in the nation’s capital, during which she and FBI Director Kash Patel scorched the Biden administration, especially former FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“There was no new tip, there was no new witness, just good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work,” she noted in the briefing.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at the briefing that there was no new information but that a new team of investigators and experts had sifted through existing evidence and generated new leads that ultimately resulted in Cole’s arrest.
Patel said 3 million “lines of information” were pored over and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the investigation included going through 233,000 sales of the type of black endcaps used to build the bombs and find a common link with purchases of pipe, wires, and other materials.
Patel said on X on Dec. 4: “When Dan Bongino and I came to the FBI in March, the pipe bomb investigation had been stalled for going on 5 years. We rebuilt it from scratch—re-running every lead, re-testing every piece of evidence, bringing in top experts, and deploying new technology to engineer the break that finally nailed the suspect.”
A congressional report revealed that the FBI during the Biden administration began "diverting resources" away from the investigation at the end of February 2021, after less than two months.
Harshly criticizing her Democrat predecessors, Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference announcing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr. that existing evidence led to the FBI’s breakthrough in a cold case that had "languished" for nearly five years.
"What I will tell you is that evidence has been sitting there collecting dust," Bondi said. "This wasn't a new tip. It wasn't some new evidence. It was the hard work of President Trump's administration."
Bondi said federal investigators were able to identify Cole after spending months "sifting through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI with the Biden administration." She said bringing charges against Cole was not a result of any new witnesses or leads but rather "good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work," reported FOX News.
At a news conference, Bongino said he made the pipe bomb case a top priority after he told FOX News in May the bureau was "closing in" on suspects.
"I spoke with Ms. Bondi very early, maybe day two, and I said, ‘We’re going to get this guy.’ She said, ‘Yes, you are.’ And we did," Bongino said Thursday.
"You're not going to walk into our capital city, put down two explosive devices and walk off in the sunset. Not going to happen," Bongino said. "There was no way he was getting away."
