Jan. 6 Prosecutions

Federal prosecutors have charged Brian Cole Jr., the man accused of planting pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021, with new federal counts including weapons-of-mass-destruction and terrorism-related offenses. The filings allege the devices placed around the Capitol complex constituted destructive devices; under federal law 18 U.S.C. § 2332a, pipe bombs and similar explosive devices are treated as weapons of mass destruction, which can elevate the severity of the charges. The new counts follow the investigation into the devices found the day before the Jan. 6 attack and are part of the wider wave of prosecutions tied to that period.