One week after the Justice Department made its long-sought arrest in the nearly five-year-old Jan. 6 pipe bomb investigation, the case is already facing delays as prosecutors continue to withhold details about the suspect’s alleged motive and whether the bombs were tied to the Capitol riot itself.
Lawyers for the DOJ and 30-year-old defendant Brian Cole Jr. jointly asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya on Wednesday to postpone Cole’s detention hearing by 15 days, citing a “significant amount of discovery” that must be reviewed before the proceeding. The judge on Thursday granted the request to delay the hearing, originally scheduled for next week, until Dec. 30 at the request of both parties.
The decision to postpone the hearing, which is intended to determine whether Cole should remain jailed or be released pending trial, will slow the public release of information in a case that has raised new questions even after Cole’s arrest last week.
Federal authorities have yet to explain why the pair of undetonated pipe bombs was placed outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee on Jan. 5, 2021, or whether the act was connected to the riot at the U.S. Capitol the following day.
Cole, a Woodbridge, Virginia, resident and the son of bail bondsman Brian Cole Sr., was arrested last Thursday on charges of transporting an explosive device across state lines with intent to kill, injure, or damage property, as well as attempted malicious destruction by means of an explosive. Prosecutors say the devices, though never detonated, could have caused serious injury or death.
During his initial court appearance on Friday, Cole appeared briefly before Upadhyaya wearing a khaki jail jumpsuit and sporting a scruffy mustache. He spoke only to answer routine questions, including whether he understood his rights and his level of education, which he said was high school. Several family members attended the hearing, with two women calling out “We love you, Brian” as he was led from the courtroom.
Prosecutors told the court their evidence includes a four-hour interview Cole gave investigators following his arrest, along with surveillance footage, cellphone location data, and financial records. Cole has not entered a plea.
According to an FBI affidavit, investigators identified Cole by reviewing years-old credit card transactions, cellphone tower data, and license plate reader records. Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week the arrest resulted from a renewed review of previously collected evidence under the Trump administration, rather than from any new tip.
At a press conference announcing the arrest, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino declined to describe the specific evidence that led investigators to Cole, telling reporters they were “in the prologue of a long book” and that the investigation remains ongoing.
Notably, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News last week that Cole admitted to planting the devices and expressed doubts about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election during questioning, though those claims have not been detailed in court filings or verified by the administration’s public comments.
The criminal affidavit remains the only court record on the docket that provides details about how the FBI landed on Cole as the primary suspect in the case. The indictment remains sealed on the docket, while authorities have said there remains the possibility of additional charges in the case.
Cole allegedly began purchasing materials to construct the bombs as early as 2019, more than a year before the election and well before the Jan. 6 riot, and continued to make purchases of similar items even in the days after the riot, according to the affidavit.
JAN. 6 BOMB SUSPECT’S ARREST EXPOSES HOLES IN FBI’S STORY ABOUT CELLPHONE DATA
The pipe bombs, which authorities have deemed were “viable,” were discovered on Jan. 6, 2021, near the RNC and DNC offices as Congress was certifying the election results. The bombs were never detonated, and nobody was injured.
The defendant remains in custody pending his detention hearing, which is now expected to be pushed back to late December.