Brian Cole Jr, the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic national committee headquarters on the eve of the January 6 Capitol riot, is facing two additional felony counts, according to a newly released indictment on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old from Woodbridge, Virginia, was arrested in December and originally charged with transporting and positioning improvised explosive devices near the RNC and DNC buildings. The updated indictment includes charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction and carrying out an act of terrorism while armed.
Although the devices did not detonate, the FBI has confirmed they were functional. The case had remained unsolved for years, with officials from the Trump administration prioritising its resolution.
Cole initially pleaded not guilty to the original charges and has yet to be formally arraigned on the new ones. In January, a judge ordered his continued detention, ruling that he posed an “intolerable risk of danger to the community” and that no conditions of release could ensure public safety.
Court documents reveal that Cole told investigators he believed the 2020 election had been interfered with and that “someone needs to speak up”. He reportedly said “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just everything getting worse”. Cole stated he did not intend to target the joint session of Congress during the attack, but aimed his actions at both political parties because “they were in charge”.
