DC pipe bomb suspect 'disappointed' by Trump’s 2020 election loss, says prosecutor

Pipe bomb suspect influenced by Trump

The man accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic national party headquarters in Washington on the eve of the U.S. Capitol attack told investigators he was “disappointed” by the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which President Donald Trump lost, the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told ABC News Live that she considers it “unmistakable” that Brian Cole Jr. was responsible for planting the pipe bombs, based on evidence gathered by investigators. Pirro also suggested that Cole may have been motivated by claims from Trump and his Republican allies that the 2020 election was stolen.

“He was disappointed in various aspects of the election, but this guy was an equal opportunity bomber," Pirro said. "He was disappointed to a great deal in the system. Both sides of the system."

Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Cole confessed to placing the devices on Jan. 5, 2021. They added that Cole indicated he believed in conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election and expressed views supportive of Trump, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly.

Cole spoke to law enforcement officers for more than four hours after his arrest, a federal prosecutor, Charles Jones, said Friday during Cole’s initial court appearance.

The details add to a still-emerging portrait of the 30-year-old suspect from Woodbridge, Virginia, and it was not immediately clear what other information or perspectives he may have shared while cooperating with law enforcement following his arrest Thursday.

Surveillance video captured the suspect’s movements through the area where the pipe bombs were placed and the surrounding neighborhood. The suspect, whose face was obscured by a mask, was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, gloves and Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes.

“He told us that he had those sneakers and that he got rid of them after he placed the pipe bombs,” Pirro said.

The FBI said a comparison of records from nearby cell towers and for Cole’s cellphone indicate he was near the RNC and DNC around the same time that the pipe bombs were placed there.

“In my mind, they were on the right path when it was clear that the cellphone was pinging in the exact locations where we had the video of the suspect walking along the area,” Pirro said. “Everywhere he walked, his cellphone was pinging at the cell tower. So it is unmistakable that he was the guy who was walking along and placing those items.”

Investigators also obtained credit card records that show Cole bought items consistent with components used to make the pipe bombs placed at the RNC and DNC, according to the FBI.

U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya ordered Cole to remain in jail after his first court appearance. He did not enter a plea and is due back in court Dec. 15 for a detention hearing.

Cole, wearing a tan-colored jail uniform, answered a few routine questions from the magistrate during Friday's brief hearing. Relatives of Cole attended the hearing and called out words of encouragement as he was led out of the courtroom.

“We love you!” one shouted.

“We’re here for you, baby,” another said.

Defense attorney John Shoreman declined to comment on the charges after the hearing.

“We’re in the very, very early stages,” he said.

Nobody was hurt before the bombs were rendered safe, but the FBI has said both devices could have been lethal.

The arrest marks the first time investigators have publicly identified a suspect in an act that has been an enduring mystery for nearly five years in the shadow of the violent Capitol attack. For years, the FBI struggled to pinpoint a suspect despite hundreds of tips, a review of tens of thousands of video files and a significant number of interviews.

Trump lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden but promoted conspiracy theories that Democrats stole the election from him. A mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House.

(With inputs from AP)