A new court filing says that Brian Cole Jr. admitted during a post-arrest interview to having built and planted the explosive devices.
Federal prosecutors say the Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach confessed to building and placing the devices.
Meanwhile, defense counsel has moved to obtain material that could test the government’s account.
In a court filing submitted on Dec. 28, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said that Brian Cole Jr., 30, admitted during a post-arrest interview that he built and planted the two improvised explosive devices, describing his actions as the result of mounting political anger after the 2020 election.
He told investigators that “something just snapped” in him after “watching everything, just everything getting worse,” the filing said.
Submitted in support of the government’s request to keep Cole jailed pending trial, the document lays out what prosecutors describe as a detailed confession, including how the devices were constructed, transported, and placed outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) buildings the night before the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
In a Dec. 29 filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Cole’s counsel, John Shoreman, asked for extensive discovery and exculpatory material, signaling a potential challenge to the government’s account of his statements and the evidence identifying him as the suspect.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Cole’s attorney with a request for comment on the statements attributed to Cole in the Dec. 28 filing, and on the charges against him more broadly.
Cole, who was arrested on Dec. 4, initially denied involvement but later admitted that he was the masked individual seen on surveillance footage placing the devices on Jan. 5, 2021, according to the filing. Investigators said he walked agents through how he made the bombs, how he transported them into Washington, and why he chose the locations.
Cole told agents he learned to manufacture black powder from watching YouTube videos and that he packed the powder into metal pipes sealed with end caps. He said he drilled holes for fuses, wired the devices using kitchen timers instead of alarm clocks because they were easier to use, and powered them with batteries, according to court documents.
According to prosecutors, Cole said he carried the devices in a shoebox in the back seat of his 2017 Nissan Sentra and wore a hood, mask, and gloves. They said he told investigators he used Google Maps to scout the areas near the DNC and RNC headquarters and set each timer for roughly 60 minutes before walking away.
Surveillance footage released by the FBI showed a hooded individual moving between the two party headquarters on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, carrying a backpack and stopping briefly at each location.
When asked about his motive, Cole said his frustration had built after watching political tensions worsen following the 2020 election, according to prosecutors. He allegedly told agents he believed grievances on all sides were being dismissed and that leaders in both major parties bore responsibility.
Prosecutors said Cole said that “something just snapped,” and that he wanted to do something directed at the political parties because “they were in charge.” He told investigators he disliked both parties and that he traveled to Washington not to attend the Jan. 6 protests but to plant the bombs, according to prosecutors.
By Tom Ozimek
