This courtroom sketch depicts Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Va., the man accused of planting a pair of pipe bombs outside the D.C. headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties on Jan. 5, 2021, being sworn in before U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya, at Federal Court in Washington, on Dec. 5, 2025. Dana Verkouteren via AP
The Department of Justice (DOJ) requested that a judge deny a motion to dismiss the case against a man accused of planting two pipe bombs in Washington on the night before protesters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Court documents filed on April 10 revealed that prosecutors pushed back on claims that the suspect, Brian J. Cole Jr., should have his case tossed out because he was preemptively pardoned under President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, proclamation.
Jacki Thrapp is an Emmy® Award-winning journalist based in Nashville. She previously worked at The New York Post, Fox News Channel and has written a series of Off-Broadway musicals in NYC. Contact her at [email protected]
