The 30-year-old man suspected of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the night before the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot will remain in jail as his case moves forward, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
Brian Cole Jr. was arrested last month and charged with two federal counts related to transporting and attempting to detonate explosive devices. Cole’s lawyers argued for the federal government to put him under house arrest as he awaits his trial, revealing that he has been diagnosed with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder and arguing that he poses no threat to society, the New York Post reported.
Prosecutors said that releasing Cole would “return him to precisely the same circumstances … [as] in the fall of 2020 … when the defendant was planning his crimes and learning about the historical use of pipe bombs.” U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Sharbaugh sided with the prosecution and ordered Cole to be held without bail, according to Reuters.
“Although home incarceration and a GPS monitor would provide some check against Mr. Cole’s ability to carry out any menacing or dangerous conduct in the community, the Court is simply not satisfied these conditions rise to the necessary level for the reasons explained,” Sharbaugh wrote in his ruling. “This is particularly true based on the severity of the potential danger Mr. Cole is alleged to pose, given his alleged persistent acquisition and retention of so-called ‘bombmaking parts,’ and given his reported penchant and capacity to create explosive devices and deploy them in public settings.”
The Department of Justice said that Cole wiped his cellphone 943 times after allegedly planting the bombs until just before his arrest. Cole’s lawyers, however, argued that he often wiped his phone because of his OCD, not to hide any incriminating evidence, the Post reported. His defense team added that Cole has no history of violence.
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Cole, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was tracked down by federal authorities nearly five years after the pipe bombs were discovered. Investigators combed through thousands of purchases, cellphone data, and license plates before tying Cole to the crime. Federal investigators said that Cole confessed to planting the bombs and expressed support for President Donald Trump. Cole allegedly told authorities in a videotaped confession that he wanted someone to “speak up” about the 2020 election being stolen, adding that people felt “that their votes are like just being thrown away.”
However, questions remain around the timing of Cole’s alleged plot to plant the pipe bombs in response to the 2020 election, as charging documents state that Cole purchased the materials for the bombs as early as May 2019, long before the controversy over the 2020 election erupted.
Cole allegedly set the bombs to detonate one hour after he set them, but they never went off. Cole said that he was “pretty relieved” when he learned that the bombs did not detonate, according to the Justice Department.
“Indeed, the defendant admitted that he set both devices to detonate 60 minutes after he placed them,” the DOJ stated. “His failure to accomplish his objectives does not mitigate the profoundly dangerous nature of his crimes.”
FBI Director Kash Patel has pointed to Cole’s arrest as an example of the bureau’s failures under the Biden administration, arguing that the pipe bomb case went unsolved for nearly five years due to “either sheer incompetence or complete intentional negligence.”
Cole faces up to 30 years in prison.
