The face of accused D.C. pipe-bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. has surfaced publicly for the first time since his arrest for allegedly placing explosive devices outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee buildings just before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Cole’s mom posted the now-viral smiling photo of him—dressed in a blue button-down shirt and tie—on Instagram for National Son’s Day in September 2024. The tribute came more than three years after the alleged pipe-bomb plot, adding an unexpected twist to the resurfaced image.
Agents swooped in early Thursday, surrounding the family’s once-quiet home in Woodbridge, Virginia and arresting the Virginia native after the long-dormant case suddenly reignited. The dramatic raid followed years of stalled leads and renewed focus from investigators at the FBI.
DC pipe-bombing suspect Brian Cole Jr., pictured in a Sept. 28, 2024 post on his mother’s Instagram.
"Today’s arrest happened because the Trump administration has made this case a priority," Pam Bondi told reporters during a Thursday afternoon press briefing following a press conference on the developments surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
She emphasized that a network of investigators—including teams from the FBI—spent months digging through evidence, chasing down fragments of clues until one solid lead finally emerged. That breakthrough paved the way for an operation carried out ‘safely and successfully,’ after painstaking planning to avoid even the smallest margin for error.
“The total lack of movement in this case in our nation’s capital undermined the public trust of our enforcement agencies.”
Bondi also claimed that key evidence used by the FBI to trace Cole, 30, had been left untouched for years—"gathering dust," in her words—before investigators recently gave it a second look. According to her, those overlooked files had been sidelined and effectively dormant, waiting for a breakthrough that never came.
FBI Director Kash Patel, whose agency led the investigation, backed Bondi’s criticism, claiming that Biden-era officials "refused and failed" to act on the intelligence they had gathered, letting crucial leads go unpursued for years.
Cole was reportedly captured on surveillance footage on the night of Jan. 5, 2021—just hours before the chaos erupted at the Capitol. FBI
“This is what a focused, disciplined Bureau delivers for the American people,” Patel said.
Cole faces charges of using an explosive device and attempting malicious destruction with explosives. Bondi noted that more charges could be added as the investigation unfolds.
On the night before the 2020 electoral votes were certified, a man—now believed to be Cole—was spotted roaming Washington, D.C., placing what authorities say were "viable explosive devices" outside the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic parties.
The devices were discovered the next afternoon, just as Congress was certifying the electoral votes—and as a wave of Trump supporters surged into the U.S. Capitol.
An explosive device sits outside the Republican National Committee office on Jan. 6, 2021—the very day the Capitol was stormed. AP
During the Biden administration, the FBI dangled a $500,000 reward for any tip that could lead to an arrest in the case.
In early October, the Trump administration renewed the $500,000 reward, coinciding with the release of new footage showing the suspect wandering through a residential D.C. neighborhood the very night the bombs were planted.
Authorities claim Cole bought materials from multiple stores across northern Virginia—including eight Home Depots, a Micro Center, Lowe’s, and Walmart—and that he likely began assembling the bombs as early as 2019.
The bombs were reportedly made from 8-inch galvanized steel pipes with capped ends, rigged with nine-volt batteries and common white kitchen items, according to federal authorities.
