Jan. 6 and Political Violence

Brian J. Cole Jr., the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday to two counts of transporting and attempting to use explosives. Cole was arrested by the FBI at his Virginia home in early December and was formally indicted this week, years after the devices were found undetonated during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. According to Justice Department court filings cited in the article, Cole initially denied involvement but allegedly confessed after being shown surveillance video and warned about the consequences of lying, saying “something just snapped” after the 2020 election and that he wanted to target “the parties” he saw as “in charge.” Prosecutors say he admitted setting both devices to detonate 60 minutes after placement and kept buying bomb‑making materials afterward, and argue that it was “luck, not lack of effort” that no one was killed or maimed. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison on one count and up to 20 years on the other, adding a major explosives case to the long tail of prosecutions tied to the Jan. 6 period.