Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect Claims Trump's Mass Pardons Cover His Charges
A man charged with planting pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on the eve of the January 6, 2021, riot is arguing that President Donald Trump's sweeping pardons for Capitol attackers should apply to his case, seeking its dismissal before trial.
Defense Claims Conduct "Inextricably Tethered" to Capitol Events
In a court filing on Monday, defense attorneys for Brian J. Cole Jr. asserted that Trump's blanket pardons extend to the charges against him because his alleged conduct on January 5, 2021, is "inextricably tethered" to what happened at the Capitol the following day. They are asking U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to throw out the case, contending that the Justice Department's own framing links Cole's actions to the January 6 proceedings.
Cole, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was arrested nearly a year after Trump's pardons on charges that he placed two pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the night before the riot. The devices did not detonate and were discovered by law enforcement on January 6.
Prosecutors' Theory of Motive Under Scrutiny
Defense lawyers argued that prosecutors have explicitly tied Cole's alleged motive to the events of January 6, when rioters disrupted Congress's certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory. "That is not happenstance sequencing in time. It is the government’s theory of Mr. Cole’s alleged motive and context," they wrote. "According to the government, the timing was chosen because of what was scheduled to occur at the Capitol on January 6."
They further claimed that this places Cole's conduct "in the same political controversy that animated the January 6 crowd," making him eligible for the pardons Trump issued on his first day back in the White House, which covered over 1,500 people charged in the attack.
Background and Legal Proceedings
Justice Department prosecutors have not immediately responded in writing to the defense's request. In previous filings, prosecutors stated that Cole, under FBI questioning, denied his actions were related to the January 6 proceedings. They also noted that Cole confessed after his December 4 arrest, telling agents he felt "bewildered" by election conspiracy theories and "something just snapped" after watching events unfold.
Cole has remained jailed since his arrest, with his attorneys appealing Judge Ali's refusal to order his pretrial release. No trial date has been set yet. Authorities used phone records and other evidence to identify him as a suspect in a crime that confounded the FBI for over four years.
Cole has been diagnosed with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder and has no criminal record, according to his attorneys. The case highlights ongoing legal debates over the scope of Trump's pardons and their application to related crimes preceding the Capitol riot.
