Nearly five years after pipe bombs were discovered outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., a suspect has been arrested in the case. On Thursday, federal agents arrested Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia. He was charged with “transportation of an explosive device via interstate commerce, and attempted malicious destruction by means of an explosive device.” Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that the investigation remains ongoing and that additional charges may be filed.
Investigators linked Cole to the devices using credit-card records for bomb components, cell-phone and license-plate data placing him near the scene, and surveillance footage. The bombs, planted outside the buildings on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, were safely deactivated and caused no injuries.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro joined Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Thursday night to discuss the case. Cole, who is said to be very close to his family, lives with his mother and sisters in the family home and works in his father’s bail-bond business. Neighbors described Cole as a “quiet guy” who was often seen walking his chihuahua.
Cole has no prior arrests. According to Pirro, he has little social life. Nothing was said about his politics.
Cole’s grandmother reportedly described him as “naive” and possibly “autistic.”
On Friday, legacy media outlets began reporting that Cole was a Trump supporter who believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen. This narrative was driven by comments from “anonymous sources familiar with the investigation.”
NPR reported that Cole “told investigators he believed conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen from then-President Trump.”
The Department of Justice said Cole spoke to law enforcement for more than four hours on Thursday in a custodial interview. He expressed views supportive of Trump, and said he believed the 2020 conspiracy theories, according to the person familiar with the investigation, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The piece goes on to insinuate that the suspect may have planted the devices to distract law enforcement as rioters moved to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The discovery of the bombs occurred at a critical moment in 2021 — the first was discovered just before the initial breach of rioters at the Peace Circle near the Capitol, and then the second was found as Proud Boys helped flood the Capitol’s west front and the fighting was intensifying.
The story quotes a passage from a book written by former USCP Chief Steven Sund: “I believe the timing and placement of these devices were deliberate diversionary tactics, intended to divert significant resources away from securing the Capitol, which they succeeded in doing.”
NPR wasn’t the outlier here. Nearly every major legacy outlet pushed some variation of the same narrative. During a Friday CBS News report of the story, producer Anna Schechter said, “We’ve learned from our sources that he [Cole] is believed to be a Trump supporter. And so, lots of questions …”
A headline from MSNOW declared, “Pipe bomb suspect confesses and has expressed support for Trump, sources say.”
Clearly, I have no insight into Cole’s actual political views. But the emerging narrative is starting to resemble the Democrats’ Hegseth hoax, in which anonymous sources claimed War Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered survivors of a September 2 drug-boat strike to be killed — a claim that quickly fell apart when the truth was revealed.
In fact, a Thursday evening report from The Daily Wire suggests the opposite may be true:
Brian Cole, Jr. worked for a bail bonds company run by his father that worked to free illegal immigrants from ICE facilities and sued the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security.Weeks before 30-year-old Cole Jr. allegedly planted pipe bombs at the headquarters of the Democrat and Republican parties on January 5, 2021, a court ruled against the company in its lawsuit attacking the Trump administration on immigration issues, The Daily Wire has learned. An FBI affidavit in the case notes that the suspect works for a bail bond company and lives with his mother.Later in 2021, the company held a press conference bemoaning anti-black racism with a left-wing attorney. Cole Sr. and Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, attempted to sic the Biden Department of Justice on a local Tennessee prosecutor who had raised questions about the bail bond company.
Crump also represented George Floyd’s family in their civil suit against Minneapolis, which resulted in a whopping $27 million settlement. Simply put, Crump is a progressive attorney who consistently takes on progressive clients.
Moreover, the Left’s narrative doesn’t jive with the fact that Cole purchased some of the bomb-making materials as early as May 2019, long before anyone knew the 2020 election would turn into such a fiasco.
Yes, Cole’s politics could differ from his family’s — just as Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson’s views diverged sharply from those of his relatives. But given Cole’s work in his father’s business and his close bond with his mother and sisters, that seems highly unlikely.
Finally, if Cole were truly a MAGA supporter, this case probably would have been solved a long time ago — by the Biden administration.
Once again, we’re watching the Left dive headfirst into a narrative based on anonymous sources they’re hoping are right because they want so badly for it to be true. Perhaps they should put the brakes on and let the facts come out.
Responding to the developing trend in a Friday post on X, conservative podcaster Jesse Kelly wrote: “They’re going to run stories about how this bomber was a right-winger, and by the time they get debunked, the lie will be cemented into your Liberal Aunt Peggie’s head for life. This is what they do. Create a world of make-believe for Democrats to live in.”
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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