The man accused of planting pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol ahead of the January 6, 2021 protests has confessed to the crime, telling FBI agents that he believed Donald Trump was the rightful winner of the 2020 election, according to law enforcement sources cited by MS NOW.
The suspect, Brian Cole Jr., 30, was arrested Thursday at his family’s home in Northern Virginia. He reportedly admitted to placing two pipe bombs — one near Republican National Committee headquarters and another near the Democratic National Committee — the night before the Capitol riot. Neither device detonated.
Two officials familiar with the FBI’s interview said Cole told investigators he was a Trump supporter but also made statements that suggested “anarchist leanings,” complicating efforts to establish a clear motive. “It’s not yet clear what the drivers were,” one official told the outlet.
Federal investigators have found no evidence that Cole coordinated with militant groups or other demonstrators who entered the Capitol the next day, according to those same sources.
Cole’s arrest came after a yearslong investigation using license plate readers, cell tower data, and forensic analysis to identify the suspect seen in surveillance footage carrying a backpack and placing the devices outside party headquarters.
Although Cole described himself as a supporter of Trump, records show his family business had clashed with the Trump administration in court shortly before the 2021 attack.
Cole and his father, Brian Cole Sr., ran a bail-bonding company called StateWide Bonding, Inc., which specialized in securing the release of illegal immigrants from federal detention. The firm sued the Trump administration and senior Department of Homeland Security officials in 2018, claiming the government imposed unfair penalties when immigrants failed to appear for court hearings.
“Hundreds of Plaintiffs’ clients fail to appear because Defendants fail to provide said person with a specified date, time, and location to appear in court,” the complaint read. “Then, only after the subject immigrant fails to appear, these Defendants expect Plaintiffs to find the person in less than 10 days, or suffer the penalty of paying the sum total of millions of dollars.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against StateWide on November 10, 2020, less than two months before the bombs were placed, siding with the Trump administration.
In 2021, the elder Cole appeared at a press conference alongside prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, accusing a Tennessee prosecutor of racial discrimination for suspending his company’s license. “We hope the Department of Justice can come in and do a brief investigation,” Cole Sr. said at the time, alleging bias against minority-owned businesses. Crump, who represented the families of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, demanded a federal review.
A Tennessee appeals court later found sanctions against the Cole family’s firm to be justified, citing “repeated misconduct.” The court said Cole Sr. lied about his financial background, concealing prior bankruptcies and tax liens.
According to the FBI affidavit, Cole Jr. began purchasing components for bomb-making as early as May 2019, long before the 2020 election. Prosecutors allege he acted alone, using parts acquired over several years to assemble the crude explosive devices.
Authorities have not detailed a political motive but said Cole’s confession included remarks about the 2020 election being “stolen” from Trump. His social media accounts, however, contained posts referencing both pro-Trump content and anti-government themes.
The revelation that Cole was quietly assembling bomb materials while the political class was still preparing for the 2020 election adds a new layer of complexity — and raises questions about timing. His actions appear to follow a similar arc to that described in TIME magazine’s 2021 exposé, “The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election.”
It is unclear how two pipe bomb threats would have helped Trump win the 2020 election, given that they conceivably could have disrupted the expected election challenges.
Cole faces charges of transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce and attempted destruction of property with explosives, among others. He remains in federal custody.
Attorney John Shoreman, who represents Cole, declined to comment on the confession reports but confirmed that his client will appear in federal court on December 15 for a detention hearing.
