Suspect confessed he planted 6 Jan pipe bombs, prosecutors say

The man charged with planting pipe bombs in Washington DC on the night before the 6 January 2021 riot on Capitol Hill has confessed that he assembled and placed the two explosives, according to a new court filing.

Brian Cole Jr, 30, told federal agents that he planted the bombs outside the national headquarters for the Republican and Democratic parties, prosecutors said in the filing released on Sunday.

Mr Cole, who has not entered a plea, supposedly told agents that "something just snapped" in him after "watching everything, just everything getting worse".

In a hearing on Tuesday his lawyers asked for him to be released pending trial and argued that he does not pose a threat to the public.

Mr Cole told agents, according to the filing, that someone needed to "speak up" for the people who "feel that, you know, something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with".

He denied his actions were connected to Congress certifying the 2020 election results, which inspired the riot.

He added that "the people up top," including "people on both sides, public figures", should not ignore people's grievances or call them "conspiracy theorists", "bad people", "Nazis", or "fascists", the filing said.

Still, Mr Cole said he "has never really been an openly political person", according to the filing.

Mr Cole was first arrested on 4 December and charged with use of an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials, capping a five-year investigation that the Trump administration said had gone cold.

Law enforcement had discovered the bombs, which never detonated, amid the violent demonstrations aimed at stopping Congress from certifying that President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden. But there was never a clear link to the protests, and a possible motive - or culprit - for the crime remained a mystery.

In the latest filing, prosecutors said that after Mr Cole was arrested, he initially denied being involved in planting the explosives. But following hours of interrogation, he eventually put his head down on the table and said "yes", he was behind the bombs.

When asked why he placed them outside the parties' headquarters, Mr Cole responded, according to the filing: "I really don't like either party at this point".

He added that he got the idea from his interest in history, specifically The Troubles in Ireland, the filing said.

Mr Cole also told agents that after months of buying bomb components and learning how to assemble them from YouTube videos and video games, he did not test the devices before planting them, prosecutors said.

He was "pretty relieved" they did not explode because he "didn't want to kill people", according to the filing.

"Ultimately, it was luck, not lack of effort, that the defendant failed to detonate one or both of his devices and that no one was killed or maimed due to his actions," prosecutors wrote.

But, they added: "His failure to accomplish his objectives does not mitigate the profoundly dangerous nature of his crimes."

Prosecutors claim they have "overwhelming evidence" of Mr Cole's guilt, including credit card purchases of bomb-making materials, and bomb components found in his home. Mr Cole also wiped his personal cellphone nearly a thousand times in the five years since the planned attack, they have said.

Mr Cole has not yet entered a plea.

In a hearing on Tuesday, Mr Cole's lawyers asked that he be permitted to live with his grandmother while he awaits trial.

During the hearing, the judge ordered that the formal reading of charges be delayed, pending an appeal against the grand jury's decision to press charges.

The hearing, which was attended by several members of Mr Cole's extended family, included arguments from his lawyer that he be allowed to remain free.

His lawyer, Mario Williams, noted that his client has no criminal history, no history of violating court orders, does not possess dangerous materials and is not "riled up".

Williams said his client has mental health issues, and "does the same routine everyday", including walking his dog and picking up pizza. He added that Mr Cole "did not try to avoid detection" from law enforcement, and did not pose a threat to the public because an expert has determined that the bombs could not have detonated.