Brian Cole was Identified as J6 Pipe Bomber suspect 4 years ago but he was the wrong color...

Declassified Affidavit Suggests Biden-Era FBI Had Jan. 6 Pipe Bomber in Sights Months After Attack

Washington, D.C. – December 8, 2025  In a stunning twist that has reignited debates over the federal handling of the January 6, 2021, Capitol events, newly declassified documents reveal that the FBI under President Joe Biden's administration may have identified the man accused of planting pipe bombs near Republican and Democratic headquarters as early as April 2021 – nearly four months after the devices were discovered. The suspect, Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old from Woodbridge, Virginia, was not arrested until December 4, 2025, prompting sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials who accuse the prior regime of deliberate inaction.

The bombshell comes from an affidavit released by the FBI under new Director Kash Patel, which details how investigators traced Cole through cellphone pings, credit card transactions, and historical cell tower data linking him to the bomb sites on the evening of January 5, 2021. According to the document, Cole's phone engaged in seven data sessions with towers near the RNC and DNC between 7:39 p.m. and 8:24 p.m. – precisely when surveillance footage captured the hooded figure placing the viable explosives. Further, records show Cole purchased bomb components, including galvanized metal pipes, end caps, kitchen timers, wiring, steel wool, and 9-volt battery connectors, from stores across northern Virginia in 2019 and 2020.

But the real eyebrow-raiser? A 2023 report from the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), which investigated the FBI's pipe bomb probe, explicitly references a lead from April 2021: "In April 2021, the case team identified a [redacted] user who was in the area of the DNC at the time the suspect can be seen on video footage using their phone." The report notes that agents requested historical cell tower data for this user and planned to "further analyze" their movements – but it remains "unclear what happened with respect to this lead." Patel's FBI affidavit, when cross-referenced with the subcommittee's findings, strongly implies that this unnamed user was Cole, whose financial and location data had already been subpoenaed for the period spanning January 2018 to January 2021.

"This wasn't a cold case breakthrough; it was a case the Biden FBI sat on," Loudermilk declared in a statement Monday, calling for a full congressional inquiry. "They had the pings, the purchases, the plates – everything pointing to Cole. Why no arrest? Why the redactions?" The subcommittee's report, released amid ongoing scrutiny of the Jan. 6 investigations, lambasted the FBI for what it described as a "lack of urgency" in pursuing the bomber, even as the agency poured resources into prosecuting Capitol riot participants.

Cole's arrest last week – hailed by Attorney General Pam Bondi as the result of "diligent police work" on existing evidence, with no new tips or witnesses – has only fueled the fire. Bondi, speaking at a December 4 press conference alongside Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, didn't mince words: "This cold case languished for four years until Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino came to the FBI. We sifted through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI with the Biden administration for four long years." Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and vocal critic of the prior administration, echoed the sentiment, slamming the FBI's earlier focus as "focusing on other things" while Cole allegedly evaded justice.

The timeline is damning. Surveillance video, first released by the FBI in March 2021, showed the suspect – described as approximately 5-foot-7, wearing a gray hoodie, jeans, Nike sneakers, gloves, and a mask – planting the devices around 7:54 p.m. near the DNC and 8:16 p.m. near the RNC. The bombs, which authorities deactivated without detonation, were found the next day amid the Capitol chaos, diverting Secret Service resources just as then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was inside the DNC. Cole's 2017 Nissan Sentra was captured on a license plate reader less than half a mile from the drop sites that night, per the affidavit.

Cole, who worked as a bail bondsman and lived with his parents at the time of his arrest, confessed to planting the bombs during a four-hour FBI interview, sources told NBC News. He reportedly told agents he believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being "rigged," though officials have not yet disclosed a full motive or any ties to the Capitol rioters. His step-grandfather, Earl Donnette, confirmed speaking with the FBI but declined further comment. Cole faces charges including transporting explosives across state lines and attempted malicious destruction by explosives, with a potential sentence of up to 10 years if convicted. More charges could follow as the probe continues.

Biden’s FBI Knew Brian Cole was the January 6 Pipe Bomber in April 2021

Far-right influencers, who long speculated the bomber was an "antifa" operative or government plant, now pivot to claims of FBI protection for a "MAGA sympathizer."

Democrats, meanwhile, push back. DNC Chair Ken Martin welcomed the arrest but cautioned against "politicizing a serious threat to democracy." A Biden spokesperson dismissed the accusations as "revisionist history from a team more interested in score-settling than justice," noting the FBI's exhaustive efforts under the prior administration, including over 1,000 interviews, 39,000 video reviews, and 600 tips chased down.

17GEN4.com