Dec 28, 2025 - Politics & Policy

DNC, RNC pipe bomb suspect told FBI "something just snapped," DOJ alleges

Rebecca Falconer

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., whose shoulder-length hair is dyed dark brown, wearing a cream blouse with scarf design and a navy suit jacket, stares to her right with her dark brown eyes as she speaks into a black mic, surrounded by officials. — Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. (center), Attorney General Pam Bondi (right) and other officials during a briefing earlier this month announcing the arrest of a suspect in the 2021 planting of pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic parties' headquarters. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

A man suspected of planting pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic parties' headquarters in D.C. on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot's eve provided a detailed confession, per a Department of Justice filing Sunday evening.

Why it matters: In the first indication of a potential motive in the case, the DOJ alleged in the filing Brian J. Cole Jr. told the FBI he felt someone needed to "speak up" after he became concerned that voting in the 2020 presidential election had been "tampered with" following President Trump's loss to former President Biden.

Zoom in: The 30-year-old told investigators he'd "never really been an openly political person" and when asked for a motive said "something just snapped," according to the filing that asks for pretrial detention.

"The defendant wanted to do something 'to the parties' because 'they were in charge.' When asked why he placed the devices at the RNC and DNC, the defendant responded, 'I really don't like either party at this point,'" per an allegation in the filing, submitted by Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.
Cole initially denied committing the crime and said he drove alone to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021 to attend a protest against the election results, according to the filing. However, he allegedly later admitted he visited the nation's capital to plant the bombs.
"He claimed that when he learned that the devices did not detonate, he was 'pretty relieved,' and asserted that he placed the devices at night because he did not want to kill people," the filing alleges.

Of note: Cole "denied that his actions were directed toward Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled to take place on January 6," prosecutors allege.

State of play: Cole was arrested at his Woodbridge, Virginia, home on Dec. 4 and charged with use of an explosive device, ending a nearly five-year search for a suspect in the high-profile case.

While the bombs that were found on Jan. 6, the day pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, did not detonate, the FBI described them as "viable" and said they could have killed or injured bystanders.
"The defendant's choice of targets risked the lives not only of innocent pedestrians and office workers but also of law enforcement, first responders, and national political leaders who were inside of the respective party headquarters or drove by them on January 6, 2021, including the Vice President-elect and Speaker of the House," Sunday's filing said.

Go deeper: Bank, cell records led FBI to suspect in Jan. 6 eve pipe bomb case

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DNC, RNC pipe bomb suspect told FBI "something just snapped," DOJ alleges

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