Accused DC pipe-bomber Brian Cole to appear in court for first time
Brian Cole Jr., the 30‑year‑old known for his red Crocs, is due to appear in a Washington, D.C. federal courtroom on Friday afternoon. He was arrested last Thursday on charges that he transported an explosive device across state lines with the intent to kill, injure and destroy property, and that he attempted malicious destruction using explosives. U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya will preside, the same judge who handled the January 6, 2021 cases that President Trump later pardoned.
Cole, a Woodbury, Virginia resident, was taken into custody almost five years after he is alleged to have left homemade bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters in Capitol Hill on the eve of the 2020 electoral vote certification. Video evidence reportedly shows him walking around the neighborhood that night. The devices were uncovered the next morning, Jan. 6, 2021, amid the chaos of Trump supporters flooding the Capitol as Congress was finalizing the vote.
According to prosecutors, Cole began gathering the materials he would need in 2019, shopping at stores in northern Virginia such as Home Depot, Micro Center, Lowe’s, and Walmart. The bombs were reportedly constructed from steel pipes, nine‑volt batteries, and common kitchen items.
A $500,000 reward was offered by the Biden administration for information that led to the arrest, and the bounty was renewed in October by the Trump administration. FBI Director Kash Patel criticized the agency for allegedly withholding evidence that could have led to Cole’s arrest sooner.
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