A man has been accused of planting a pipe bomb in Washington, D.C., just before the January 6, 2021, Capitol protests. He allegedly confessed to the FBI, stating he believed former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, despite losing a lawsuit that his family’s company filed against the Trump administration shortly before the bomb was placed.
Brian Cole Jr., aged 30, was arrested last Thursday by FBI agents at his parents’ home in northern Virginia. They reportedly discovered devices that did not detonate outside the Republican and Democratic national party headquarters on January 5, 2021.
Sources have indicated that during interviews with the FBI, Cole Jr. expressed he was a supporter of Trump and believed he had legitimately defeated then-President-elect Joe Biden. However, his social media postings seemed to show “anarchist tendencies,” which made it difficult for investigators to pinpoint his motivations, as reported.
An anonymous police source mentioned, “It’s not yet clear who the driver was.”
Moreover, investigators have found no indication that Cole Jr. colluded with extremist groups or other Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol the day after the bomb was planted.
Even though Cole Jr. claimed to support Trump, the bail bond company he works for, which is owned by his father, Brian Cole Sr., had sued the Trump administration over its illegal immigration policies.
Father and son operated under several different business names, including Statewide Bonding Co., Ltd., which, according to records, aimed to assist illegal immigrants in avoiding imprisonment.
In 2018, the company filed a lawsuit against various government officials, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claiming that clients were treated unfairly if they missed court dates due to a lack of notice.
The complaint stated, “Hundreds of Plaintiff’s clients were unable to appear in court because Defendants…failed to provide such individuals with a designated date, time, and location for their court appearance.” They argued that if an immigrant failed to show up, the plaintiffs could face substantial fines if they couldn’t locate the individual within a specified time frame.
On November 10, 2020, not long after Cole Jr. allegedly placed the bomb, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling favored the Trump administration.
In November 2021, reports surfaced that Cole Sr. collaborated with attorney Ben Crump in an effort to engage the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding a Tennessee prosecutor accused of unethical behavior in relation to their bail bond practices.
Crump, representing high-profile families such as those of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, held a press conference with Cole Sr., alleging discriminatory actions by the prosecutor.
Cole Sr., who is Black, claimed the prosecutor was spreading damaging rumors about him to hurt another business he operates, called Free at Last Bail Bonds. At a news conference, he stated, “He defamed me and called my insurance company.” report. “We’re hoping the Department of Justice will come in and do a quick investigation, because what we’ve seen is a lot of problematic behavior against minority-owned companies.”
Crump remarked, “The Department of Justice exists to ensure that no citizen, even a corporate citizen, is discriminated against.” He emphasized that the DOJ aims to protect minority-owned businesses from compromise.
In April, the Tennessee Court of Appeals responded by ruling that sanctions against the company were warranted due to “repeated misconduct.”
The court indicated that Cole Sr. lied about his financial history, including a bankruptcy, when in fact he had filed twice and also had tax liens.
Reportedly, Cole Jr. began gathering materials to manufacture the bomb as early as May 2019, which raises questions about the timing relative to the 2020 election outcomes.
Cole Jr. has engaged a lawyer, John Shoreman, for representation in this case.
A detention hearing for Cole Jr. is set for December 15, as reported.
