The man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters says false claims about the 2020 election pushed him to act, according to new court filings released by the Justice Department.
Brian Cole Jr., 30, told federal investigators that he believed the 2020 presidential election had been tampered with and felt that powerful figures were ignoring the concerns of millions of Americans, prosecutors said in a memo filed Sunday .
CBS News reports the filing offers the most detailed account yet of Cole’s alleged confession in a case that has lingered unresolved for nearly five years. The two homemade pipe bombs were planted on Jan. 5, 2021, outside the DNC and RNC headquarters in Washington. Neither device exploded, but both were found hours before Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s election victory.
J6 pipe bomber suspect not a Trump supporter: family | The Post Millennial
“He’s not politically affiliated with anything,” Brian Cole’s grandmother said.
Brian Cole has been charged with placing explosive devices outside the DNC and RNC headquarters that did not detonate.… pic.twitter.com/fha7jqvyYh
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) December 7, 2025
According to prosecutors, Cole spent about 90 minutes walking FBI agents through how he built, transported, and placed the explosives. He allegedly told investigators that “something just snapped” after months of watching online discussions claiming the election had been stolen .
Cole said he did not consider himself a political person and claimed to dislike both parties. But after the election, he began closely following claims of fraud on YouTube and Reddit, telling investigators he felt “bewildered” by what he was seeing and frustrated that public figures dismissed those concerns as conspiracy theories, the memo states .
“If people feel that something as important as voting is being tampered with, someone up top needs to speak up,” Cole allegedly told agents, according to the filing. Prosecutors say he believed political leaders were ignoring grievances rather than addressing them directly.
Wow! The alleged DC Pipe Bomber Brian Cole Jr. apparently confessed and said he planted the pipe bombs because he believed the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Trump incited this! pic.twitter.com/Ay1CGvc34g
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) December 29, 2025
The Justice Department said Cole denied targeting the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress and claimed he did not want to kill anyone. Per NPR, he allegedly told investigators he planted the bombs at night for that reason and later felt “pretty relieved” they did not detonate.
Prosecutors rejected that characterization, arguing that the lack of explosions was due to luck, “not lack of effort.” They warned that Cole’s actions endangered pedestrians, law enforcement, and national leaders who passed through the area the next day, including the vice president-elect and Speaker of the House .
Cole reportedly said his interest in using pipe bombs came from studying history, specifically the conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles, where such devices were commonly used. Investigators say bomb-making materials purchased between 2018 and 2020 were later found at his home in Woodbridge, Virginia.
And this is the fatal flaw in the FBI’s case against Brian Cole Jr. Oops.
This paragraph would have to happen between 8:00p and 8:08p on Jan 5, 2021.
And it is physically impossible. pic.twitter.com/fxjYAOte5M
— Kyle Seraphin (@KyleSeraphin) December 29, 2025
The court filing also places Cole’s mindset squarely within the broader ecosystem of election denial that followed Donald Trump’s repeated false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Trump has continued to promote those claims publicly, despite dozens of court rulings and audits finding no evidence of widespread fraud.
Cole has not yet entered a plea. He was arrested on Dec. 4 and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a detention hearing. His attorneys have asked that the hearing also address probable cause and requested early access to any recorded confession or interview evidence .
As the case moves forward, prosecutors argue Cole should remain detained, warning that his own words show how election misinformation can escalate from online grievance to real-world violence.
