A man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol appeared in court for the first time Friday afternoon, although the brief hearing offered no additional details into his possible motivations.
Brian Cole Jr., 30, was charged Thursday with transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce and attempted malicious destruction by means of an explosive material. Dozens of FBI agents and teams in camouflage apprehended him at his Northern Virginia home.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones said Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington that Cole spoke with law enforcement for more than four hours Thursday. Two people familiar with the matter previously described Cole as an extremist in his political beliefs. They spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.
The arrest, nearly five years after the discovery of the pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees on Capitol Hill, marked a breakthrough in a case mired by conspiracy theories and dead ends. Justice Department officials said the arrest came after investigators took a fresh look at evidence this year. The FBI has said that the bombs were capable of injuring people had they detonated and that their discovery apparently diverted law enforcement attention from the Capitol as the Jan. 6 riots began to unfold.
In a packed courtroom, Cole spoke only to tell U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya his name, age, that his highest level of education was high school and that he understood the charges he faces. He is represented by private attorney John Shoreman and will be held in jail until his next hearing on Dec. 15. Shoreman specializes in commercial and civil law such as contract negotiation and has little experience as a criminal defense attorney, according to his LinkedIn and attorney biography. Shoreman did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Jones said prosecutors would provide the defense with a hard drive containing the Thursday interview with law enforcement, surveillance footage and the purchase history data referenced in the charging documents filed in court.
News of Cole’s arrest came as a shock to a person who has been in regular contact with him for more than a decade and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. The person never heard Cole discuss or join conversations about politics. “The Brian Jr. I know is an introvert. He’s a little weird. But he isn’t threatening,” the person said.
Cole rarely spoke to others beyond saying “good morning” or “good evening,” they added, and did not appear to socialize with people outside his family.
“He’ll stumble over his words,” the person said. “It’s like his mind is moving faster than he can speak.” When someone made an attempt to talk with him, “it was always just a one-word type of answer.”
Around the time Cole graduated high school in 2013, he started doing data-entry work at his father’s bail bond company, the person said.
The business — Free U Bail Bonds on Chain Bridge Road in Fairfax — was searched by law enforcement officials Thursday morning, the person said.
In the aftermath of Jan. 6, the FBI pulled cell tower data, subpoenaed retailers for credit card transactions and pored over surveillance video in a wide-reaching investigative effort that yielded the arrest of an unrelated bombmaker in Georgia — but they made no arrests related to the planted pipe-bombs in the District until this week. Ultimately, agents had to drive 25 miles southwest of the nation’s capital to arrest Cole at a home in Woodbridge, Virginia.
The information that led to Cole’s arrest was not new, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and other officials said in a news conference Thursday. Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in D.C., described how investigators revisited evidence this year and found a “needle in a haystack” that eventually led to Cole.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday afternoon that federal agents were still gathering evidence, “and there could be more charges to come.”
As Cole was led out of the courtroom Friday in a short-sleeve beige jumpsuit, some attendees yelled, “We love you!”
A group of family members did not respond to questions while leaving the courthouse.
A woman at the home of Cole’s grandmother said Thursday of the allegations: “We don’t know anything. They haven’t told us anything all day long.”
Asked about Cole, she said: “He’s a quiet boy. I really don’t think he could do what they say.”
Salvador Rizzo, Perry Stein, Aaron C. Davis, Jon Swaine and Ellie Silverman contributed to this report.
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