Federal agents have arrested a man they suspect of placing two pipe bombs near the Capitol on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, a break in a mystery that fueled conspiracy theories for years.
Brian Cole Jr., 30, was taken into custody at the home he shared with his parents in Woodbridge, Va. The authorities have yet to describe a motive for planting bombs outside the Republican and Democratic national headquarters on the eve of the congressional certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
The lack of breakthroughs in the case led many to promote unfounded theories about the bombs and the storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, including the suggestion that this may have been done to discredit Mr. Trump’s supporters.
Here’s what we know about the arrest:
Agents used cellphone data to track the suspect.
The arrest came after years of investigative work, with agents conducting hundreds of interviews, combing through surveillance footage and producing profiles of several suspects. The authorities issued subpoenas to vendors selling items similar to those found in the bombs and even the type of sneakers the suspect was seen wearing.
Investigators identified Mr. Cole, from Prince William County in Virginia, as a suspect after taking a fresh look at their files and re-examining earlier leads. A review of the case prompted agents to focus on his movements and transactions around the time the bombs were planted.
Agents used Mr. Cole’s cellphone data to track his location on the night the bombs were set, then compared it with surveillance footage of the path the masked would-be bomber took. They also traced purchases of bomb components, including galvanized pipe, batteries, and timers, to his bank and credit card records.
The motive is unclear.
Investigators have not yet addressed questions about the suspect’s motive, including why he targeted both major political parties. Mr. Cole is speaking with federal agents, who hope to learn more about his thinking, according to people familiar with the matter.
There is a possibility that defense lawyers could argue that Mr. Trump’s sweeping clemency for those charged over the Jan. 6 riot should also apply to Mr. Cole. The president’s proclamation of clemency was broad and covered all defendants accused or convicted of “offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”
The suspect is expected to appear in a federal court in Washington on Friday.
The case has fueled conspiracy theories.
For years, the unresolved case fueled conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs, including claims from some Trump allies that the devices were planted as part of an inside job to discredit Mr. Trump’s supporters by people they called deep-state law enforcement and intelligence officials.
Dan Bongino, a former right-wing podcaster who is now the F.B.I.’s deputy director, was one of the most prominent voices advancing those theories.
Early this year Mr. Bongino said on his show that the F.B.I. was protecting a “massive cover-up,” though he did not address those statements during Thursday’s announcement of the arrest. The Blaze, a far-right news site, claimed in November that the would-be bomber was a former law enforcement official, an assertion Mr. Bongino rejected.
Mr. Bongino, Attorney General Pam Bondi and F.B.I. Director Kash Patel also used the lack of an earlier arrest to falsely accuse the Biden administration of not aggressively pursuing the inquiry, despite years of exhaustive investigative work carried out by the bureau.
Alan Feuer covers extremism and political violence for The Times, focusing on the criminal cases involving the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and against former President Donald J. Trump.
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