USA (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The suspect accused of planting pipe bombs before the Jan. 6 riot told investigators he acted over false election claims, prosecutors said.
A Justice Department brief outlining the accusations stated that Brian J. Cole Jr., who was detained earlier this month on suspicion of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee buildings, ought to be in custody as the case proceeds.
The memo offers the most thorough government description of the purported statements Cole made to investigators and identifies evidence that officials claim links Cole to the crime, such as bomb-making components discovered at his house following his detention. The improvised bombs were found on January 6, the afternoon protesters backing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to try to stop the certification of his election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The bombs did not explode.
According to the report, Cole denied to investigators that his actions had anything to do with Congress or the events on January 6. Prosecutors claim that although he first denied any involvement in the pipe bombs, he later admitted to setting them outside the RNC and DNC. He also admitted to feeling disappointed by the 2020 election, tired of both political parties, and sympathetic to Trump’s and some of his allies’ claims that the election had been rigged.
He advised investigators interviewing him, according to the letter, that if people “feel that, you know, something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with, is being, you know, being — you know, relegated null and void.”
In what law enforcement officials called a significant development in their nearly five-year-old investigation, Cole was taken into custody at his Woodbridge, Virginia, home early on December 4. Prior to a hearing scheduled for Tuesday in the federal court in Washington, his attorneys will also get a chance to express their views on custody.
Prosecutors claim that shopping bags with components for manufacturing bombs were discovered when investigators searched Cole’s house and vehicle following his detention. When questioned about his whereabouts on the evening of January 5, 2021, he first denied manufacturing or placing the pipe bombs, according to authorities. He initially told detectives he had driven alone to attend a rally related to the 2020 election.
“I didn’t agree with what people were doing, like just telling half the country that they — that their — that they just need to ignore it. I didn’t think that was a good idea, so I went to the protest,”
the memo quotes him as saying.
However, Cole admitted over hours of interrogation that he traveled to Washington to plant the bombs rather than to protest, according to the prosecution. According to the document, he stored the explosives in a shoebox in the rear seat of his Nissan Sentra and set a timer for sixty minutes before placing one outside each of the RNC and DNC headquarters.
Cole claims he was “pretty relieved” that neither device exploded because he planted them at night because he didn’t want to kill anyone, according to the document.
“The defendant’s choice of targets risked the lives not only of innocent pedestrians and office workers but also of law enforcement, first responders, and national political leaders who were inside of the respective party headquarters or drove by them on January 6, 2021, including the Vice President-elect and Speaker of the House,”
prosecutors wrote.
What evidence did the FBI present to obtain the confession?
FBI agents blazed Brian J. Cole Jr. with surveillance footage showing him placing the pipe losers near the DNC and RNC headquarters on January 5, 2021, egging his concession after original denials.
Investigators also presented cell phone position data placing Cole at the scenes, matching apparel from videotape, and purchase records for lemon factors like watercolor, sulfur, and potassium nitrate bought from Lowe’s, which he admitted sourcing via YouTube tutorials.
Upon viewing the irrefragable videotape, Cole said” commodity just snapped,” detailed constructing the feasible bias(non-detonating due to timekeeper issues), and expressed relief they caused no detriment, leading to his full admission.