After nearly five years, the FBI arrested a Virginia man on Thursday on suspicion of planting two pipe bombs on January 6, 2021.
A charging document showed that Brian Cole Jr. faces one count of transporting an explosive device with intent to kill and a second count of “malicious destruction or attempted malicious destruction by means of fire and explosive materials.”
Cole bought several components used the pipe bombs, an FBI agent said in an affidavit filed in the case. Those allegedly include electronics, wires, pipes, and other parts of the bombs. The agent, who wasn’t named in the document, described the explosive component as being “homemade black powder.”
Neither of the two pipe bombs on January 6 exploded, though their placement certainly drew attention: one was at the DNC, and the other at the RNC. Law enforcement responding to the storming of the Capitol that day were diverted as the bombs were discovered.
