❓WHAT HAPPENED: Brian Cole Jr., a Virginia man, was arrested and charged with placing pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committees on January 5, 2021.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Brian Cole, federal investigators, and prosecutors.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The pipe bombs were placed on January 5, 2021, outside the RNC and DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C. Cole was arrested on December 4, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I really don’t like either party at this point,” Cole reportedly told investigators, explaining his actions.
🎯IMPACT: The devices did not detonate, and no one was harmed. Prosecutors argue the incident demonstrates the dangerous nature of Cole’s alleged actions and are asking that he remain detained before trial.
Brian Cole Jr., the Virginia man charged with placing pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committees on January 5, 2021, has told federal investigators that he was not intending to target the joint session of Congress certifying the 2020 presidential election. Instead, Cole—who was arrested on December 4, 2025—said, according to court filings, that his decision to place pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC was primarily inspired by Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacks during the Troubles period in Northern Ireland.
“When asked why he placed the devices at the RNC and DNC, the defendant responded, ‘I really don’t like either party at this point,'” the court filing by federal prosecutors states, adding: “[Cole] also explained that the idea to use pipe bombs came from his interest in history, specifically the Troubles in Ireland. The defendant denied that his actions were directed toward Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled to take place on January 6.”
“According to the defendant, he was not really thinking about how people would react when the bombs detonated, although he hoped there would be news about it,” prosecutors stated in their filing, noting: “The defendant stated that he had not tested the devices before planting them. He claimed that when he learned that the devices did not detonate, he was ‘pretty relieved,’ and asserted that he placed the devices at night because he did not want to kill people.”
The documents state that Cole Jr. had intended for the pipe bombs to explode after 60 minutes, with timers on each set for that duration. After placing the devices, he told prosecutors that he drove to Virginia, picked up a carry-out meal, and then returned to his parents’ home in Woodbridge.
Prosecutors, in revealing Cole’s confession, are asking a federal judge to order the pipe bomber to remain detained in federal custody ahead of his trial. They contend his choice of the RNC and DNC “demonstrates the extreme and deeply dangerous nature of his conduct,” and that “the defendant did so because he did not ‘like either party,’ but ‘they were in charge’ and thus were, in the defendant’s mind, an appropriate target for extreme acts of violence.”
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