OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:19 PM – Friday, December 5, 2025
A 30-year-old man in Virginia, arrested on Wednesday, confessed Thursday to planting two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican National Committees on the night before the January 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol, law enforcement sources confirmed.
Brian Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia, admitted during FBI questioning that he placed the explosive devices on January 5, 2021.
However, at his initial court appearance on Friday, Cole did not enter a plea, and U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya ordered him to remain in jail. He is due back in court December 15th for a detention hearing.
Meanwhile, the confession marks the dramatic resolution of one of the most enduring mysteries surrounding the events of January 6th — a case that had frustrated investigators for nearly five years despite a $500,000 reward and thousands of leads.
Surveillance footage released by the FBI in the weeks after the incident showed a masked individual in a gray hoodie and Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes placing a backpack containing one bomb beside a bench near the DNC headquarters at approximately 7:40 p.m., then walking a short distance to hide a second device in bushes outside the RNC building at around 8:02 p.m.
The bombs — constructed from threaded steel pipe, homemade black powder, kitchen timers, and hobby fuse — were not discovered until the afternoon of January 6th, after protesters had already begun approaching the Capitol.
Investigators credit a renewed push by the Trump administration’s Justice Department, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, with cracking the case.
A breakthrough came when analysts re-examined years-old financial records and traced purchases of bomb-making materials — including galvanized pipe, end caps, timers, wire, and drilling equipment — to Cole’s credit cards and bank accounts at stores in Virginia and Maryland.
“This is what it’s like when you work for a president who tells you to go get the bad guys and stop focusing on other extraneous things not related to law enforcement,” Bongino said at a press conference announcing the arrest on Thursday afternoon.
Cellphone location data and license-plate readers further placed Cole’s phone and vehicle within blocks of both party headquarters on the evening of January 5, 2021, court documents show.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin called the arrest a sobering reminder that political violence remains a threat to our democracy, while Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump praised law enforcement and said the resolution closes a difficult chapter.
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