A federal grand jury indicted Brian Cole Jr., the man accused of laying pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6 riot five years ago, on Tuesday, resolving a procedural snag that had delayed the transfer of his case into federal court despite his arrest last month.
The superseding indictment, returned in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., charges Cole with interstate transportation of explosives and malicious attempt to use explosives for allegedly placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic national committee headquarters on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021.
While Cole was arrested on Dec. 4 and charged via a criminal complaint, prosecutors were temporarily boxed in by a jurisdictional dispute involving a separate indictment issued by a grand jury sitting in D.C. Superior Court, the city’s local court system. A federal magistrate judge overseeing Cole’s detention said his authority was limited because the federal appeals court is considering whether superior court indictments are transferable to the federal court, which effectively prevented him from accepting the initial local indictment.
Tuesday’s federal indictment eliminated that hurdle and placed the case under federal jurisdiction. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, an appointee of former President Joe Biden.
“Given that Cole crossed state lines and targeted the political leadership of both parties, for which there is an inherent crime of federal jurisdiction, handling this in federal court is most proper,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.
“The FBI and my office worked around the clock to ensure that this defendant is charged with the right crimes for his dangerous acts,” Pirro added.
Cole is accused of planting two improvised explosive devices near the DNC and RNC headquarters in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021. The devices were discovered the following day as rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the nearby Capitol in an effort to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Neither device detonated. Capitol Police later conducted a “render safe procedure” to neutralize the explosives, prosecutors said.
Video surveillance captured an individual, believed to be Cole, placing the pipe bombs near both party headquarters. FBI images show the suspect wearing dark pants, a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark gloves, a face mask, and Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes.
Investigators also traced Cole’s Nissan Sentra near the scene and obtained cellphone records showing he was in the area between 7:39 p.m. and 8:24 p.m. that evening, according to court filings.
Prosecutors allege Cole purchased multiple components used to assemble the devices in 2019 and 2020 from retail stores in northern Virginia. The purchases matched materials recovered from the pipe bombs.
In a Justice Department document filed earlier in the case, prosecutors said Cole confessed after his arrest, telling authorities that “something just snapped” before he planted the devices. Cole allegedly said he wanted to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and viewed the two major political parties as targets because they were “in charge.” Prosecutors have also pointed to specific patterns of behavior, such as Cole’s decision to factory reset his phone over 900 times since 2021, a habit his defense team has said is a symptom of Cole’s obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Cole was arrested at his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, in early December following a multi-agency investigation that spanned several years.
His defense attorneys disclosed in a recent filing that Cole is on the autism spectrum and has been diagnosed with OCD.
A federal magistrate judge on Friday ordered Cole to remain detained pending trial, citing evidence that he could pose a danger to the community if released.
However, Ali gave the defense until the end of Wednesday to “show cause” for why its emergency motion to reconsider Cole’s detention should not be denied as moot now that a federal indictment has been returned.
Cole’s family has so far offered a strong showing of support at his recent court appearances. On Friday, Cole’s grandmother, who introduced herself as Loretta, stood up and offered to be his third-party custodian if he were to remain on house arrest pending his trial.
She recently described her grandson in an interview with the Daily Mail as “borderline autistic” with the “mind of a 16-year-old,” adding that Cole is “never online, going back and forth with politics or anything like that. He says he don’t like either party.”
The defendant has also received rare support from a cohort of outsiders who have been keenly interested in the mystery surrounding the pipe bombs, which the government contends were viable, a claim that has been hotly contested by explosives experts and some members of Congress.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has expressed doubts that Cole is actually the person responsible for planting the bombs, said Tuesday ahead of the superseding indictment that Cole should be released from custody while awaiting his trial.
The judge should release autistic J6 pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr.
No credible motive, presents danger to no one, flimsy evidence, no priors, willing to wear a tracker under house arrest, family will vouch, and DOJ botched the legal work.
Irreparable harm to him otherwise. https://t.co/JWxqKXLgtz
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 6, 2026
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS JAN. 6 PIPE BOMB SUSPECT TO REMAIN DETAINED AHEAD OF TRIAL
“The judge should release autistic J6 pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr,” Massie wrote. He added his belief that the government has failed to establish a “credible motive,” and that Cole “presents danger to no one.”
“Flimsy evidence, no priors, willing to wear a tracker under house arrest, family will vouch, and the DOJ botched the legal work,” Massie said, adding that Cole would face “irreparable harm” if he stayed behind bars.