Judge Weighing Release Of DC Pipe Bomb Suspect From Jail

WASHINGTON, DC — A judge is considering whether to release the Northern Virginia man accused of placing two pipe bombs at the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol from jail ahead of his trial, according to a report.

Attorneys for Brian Cole Jr. of Woodbridge appeared in court Wednesday and argued that Cole is not a danger to the public and lived quietly in the years following the incident in D.C., FOX 5 reported. They also said the pipe bombs he is accused of making were not viable and would not have exploded.

Instead of jail time, Cole's attorneys suggested he be placed on house arrest and electronic monitoring.

The judge is expected to issue a written ruling ahead of Cole's next court appearance on Feb. 27, FOX 5 reported.

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Cole, 30, was charged with interstate transportation of explosives and with malicious attempt to use explosives earlier this month. The newest indictment supersedes a December federal indictment by a D.C. Superior Court, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Cole has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Cole told investigators he believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen, according to reports by NBC News and The Associated Press.

He told authorities after his arrest that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he wanted to target the country's political parties because they were “in charge.”

A memo shared by prosecutors last month outlined statements Cole reportedly made to investigators and noted evidence, including bomb-making components found at his home after his arrest, that officials say connect him to the act. The homemade bombs did not detonate and were discovered Jan. 6, the afternoon that rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to halt the certification of his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

According to the memo, Cole told agents who interviewed him that if people “feel that, you know, something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with, is being, you know, being — you know, relegated null and void, then, like, someone needs to speak up, right? Someone up top. You know, just to, just to at the very least calm things down.”

He said “something just snapped” after “watching everything, just everything getting worse" and that he wanted to do something “to the parties” because “they were in charge," according to the Justice Department's memo. Prosecutors say when Cole was asked why he had placed the explosives at the RNC and DNC, he responded, “I really don't like either party at this point.”

Cole was arrested on the morning of Dec. 4 at his Woodbridge, Virginia, house in what law enforcement officials described as a major breakthrough in their nearly five-year-old investigation. His lawyers will also have an opportunity to state their position on detention ahead of a hearing set for Tuesday in Washington's federal court.

In an email, a spokesperson for Prince William County Public Schools confirmed to NBC News that Cole graduated from Hylton High School in 2013.

During a search of Cole's home and car after his arrest, prosecutors say, investigators found shopping bags of bomb-making components. He at first denied having manufactured or placed the pipe bombs, prosecutors say, and when pressed about his whereabouts on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, initially told investigators he had driven by himself to attend a protest related to the 2020 election.

But over the course of hours of questioning, prosecutors say, Cole acknowledged he went to Washington not for a protest but rather to place the bombs. He stowed the explosives in a shoebox in the back seat of his Nissan Sentra and placed one apiece outside the RNC and DNC headquarters, setting the timer on each for 60 minutes, the memo says.

Neither device exploded, a fact Cole says he was “pretty relieved” about because he planted them at night and did not want to kill anyone, the memo says.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.