Updated December 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM EST
The FBI on Thursday said it arrested a man who the agency believes to be responsible for placing pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol complex nearly five years ago.
Brian J. Cole Jr., 30, is being charged with transportation of an explosive device via interstate commerce, and attempted malicious destruction by means of an explosive device, according to an arrest warrant filed in his case. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the investigation continues and more charges may be added.
Cole was arrested at his home in the Woodbridge, Va., area that he shares with his mother and other family members, about 35 miles from Washington, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.
The FBI has spent years searching for the person who put bombs near the Democratic and Republican committee headquarters, hours before the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
New leaders at the FBI and the Justice Department intensified their focus on the case this year amid intense pressure to solve the crime, including from President Trump's political base.
"Today's arrest happened because the Trump administration made this case a priority," Bondi said at a press conference on Thursday. "This cold case languished for four years, until Director [Kash] Patel and Deputy Director [Dan] Bongino came to the FBI."
Bondi declined to comment on the suspect's political or any other motivations.
'Millions' of pieces of data
Bondi said the FBI had no new tips or new witnesses but just relied on "diligent" police and prosecutorial work to identify the suspect. The FBI had previously also set a $500,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a suspect.
"We are working every day to restore the public's trust. We are hoping today is a significant step toward that progress," Bondi said at the presser.
"We solved it," FBI Director Kash Patel said, adding that the suspect will still have his day in court. Cole's first court appearance is set for Friday.
The FBI affidavit said Cole purchased components that could have been used to make the pipe bombs, including electrical wire, steel wool, battery connectors, and parts to close the end of a pipe.
Court papers also say a cell phone tied to Cole pinged cell towers near the RNC and DNC the night the bombs were placed. And a license plate reader near the area captured his car, a Nissan Sentra, that evening.
"This case involved millions of pieces of data, and it is a huge win, because it was like finding a needle in a haystack," said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. For example, she said investigators looked at 233,000 purchases of black end caps of the type that was used to make the bomb in the attack, she said.
Investigators declined to comment on the specific piece of forensic evidence that led them to name the suspect.
Jan. 6 timeline
The discovery of the bombs occurred at a critical moment in 2021 — the first was discovered just before the initial breach of rioters at the Peace Circle near the Capitol, and then the second was found as Proud Boys helped flood the Capitol's west front and the fighting was intensifying.
"If those pipe bombs were intended to be a diversion, plainly speaking, it worked," Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton told Congress in 2021.
Former USCP Chief Steven Sund wrote in his book that the discovery of the bombs diverted attention and resources at critical moments:
"I believe the timing and placement of these devices were deliberate diversionary tactics, intended to divert significant resources away from securing the Capitol, which they succeeded in doing."
Before joining the FBI as deputy director, Dan Bongino spread conspiracies about the bomber, and said it must've been an "inside job" by the government.
NPR's Tom Dreisbach contributed to this report
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