Suspect Arrested 5 Years After Pipe Bombs Found At RNC And DNC Headquarters
on Dec 04, 2025
The Pipe Bombs Were Found On January 6, 2021
It’s been nearly five years since an investigation began into who placed pipe bombs at the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic National Committees.
The bombs were placed at approximately 7:54 p.m. on January 5, 2021, but were not found until the next day, on January 6, amid the unrest at the U.S. Capitol as the Senate prepared to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
While the bombs were never detonated, they could have had lethal results.
Who placed these bombs, and why, has remained a mystery.
However, today — on Thursday, December 4, 2025 — it was announced that the FBI has a suspect in federal custody.
The FBI had previously offered a $500,000 reward for anyone who provided information leading to an arrest and a conviction of the individual who placed these bombs.
During a press conference, which can be found below, at 1:30 p.m. on December 4, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the suspect’s identity, saying they safely apprehended Brian Cole Jr.
This photograph is of the suspect, Brian Cole Jr, who is reportedly a 30-year-old resident of Woodbridge, Virginia:
If Cole is presently 30, then he would have been around the age of 26 at the time of January 6, 2021.
This photo of Brian Cole Jr. was also released by the Department of Justice:
The Press Conference
At a press conference held on December 4, Bondi was joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro.
There, she attributed the successful arrest of a suspect, Cole, to the Trump administration’s desire to pursue this cold case.
She stated that the case “languished” for four years prior to the confirmation of Kash and Bongino to leadership in the FBI.
“Let me be clear, there was no new tip, there was no new witness,” said Bondi. “Just good, diligent police work, and prosecutorial work.”
Bondi went on to praise the teamwork of ATF, Capitol Police, Metro D.C. Police, and the FBI in bringing about this arrest.
Cole is charged with Use of An Explosive Device, in regard to the alleged placing of two pipe bombs on January 5, 2021.
Further, she stated that warrants are being issued, and additional charges may be leveled against Cole.
Kash then took to the podium, saying, “When you attack American citizens, when you attack our institutions and legislation, when you attack our nation’s capitol, you attack the very being of our way of life.”
Continuing, Kash said, “This FBI and this Department of Justice stand here to tell you that we will always refute it and combat it. We will provide the safest country the nation has ever seen under President Trump’s leadership.”
He added, “That’s what we did here, today.”
Watch the press conference, here:
The Investigation
As recently as October 22 of this year, the FBI was still releasing new material regarding the video and material evidence in the January 6, 2021, pipe bomb plot.
It was also still sharing that a $500,000 reward was on the line.
According to the FBI, the suspect, who is allegedly Brain Cole Jr., is approximately 5’7″, and “wore a face mask, a gray hooded sweatshirt, and black gloves.”
Notably, the suspect was seen “wearing distinctive Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes, which are black and gray with the yellow Nike logo. Fewer than 25,000 of these shoes were sold between August 2018 and January 2021.”
Further, the suspect “used a backpack to transport each of the devices.”
In video footage from within Washington, D.C., the FBI was able to piece together a portrait of the suspect’s process in the placing of the bombs.
At 7:34 p.m. on January 5, 2021, the FBI first observes the suspect at the intersection of First Street and North Carolina Avenue Southeast.
Upon arriving at South Capitol Street, the video shows the suspect “setting down their backpack, which is believed to contain one of the bombs at this time.”
From there, the suspect “appears to put on a pair of glasses and scan the area, standing on tiptoes,” and then heads “back the way they came on South Capitol Street.”
Circling within the area, the “footage shows the suspect sitting on the DNC bench before placing the first bomb” at approximately 7:54 p.m., the FBI reports.
Leaving the scene, the suspect eventually disappears from camera view for approximately eight minutes, resurfacing at about 8:08 p.m.
Now, the suspect is passing “between the RNC and the Capitol Hill Club, holding the backpack out to the side.”
By 8:16 p.m., the second pipe bomb has been placed.
“The suspect then turns back onto Rumsey Court, walking east until the person is last seen on camera at approximately 8:18 p.m., wearing the backpack on their shoulders. The bomb is believed to have been placed shortly before this video, based on how the suspect is carrying the backpack.”
The bombs would not be found for another 15 hours.
NPR notes that the FBI conducted approximately 1,000 interviews and reviewed nearly 40 thousand video files in connection to this incident.
Watch the FBI’s comprehensive video on the pipe bomb suspect, here:
This is a developing story.
