Virginia man accused of planting bombs near RNC, DNC headquarters
FBI Director Kash Patel (second from left) speaks at a press conference held on December 4, 2025, at the Department of Justice’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. He’s shown alongside Anthony Spotswood, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Washington Field Division (left); FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Darren Cox (second from right); and Attorney General Pamela Bondi (right).
The FBI has arrested a suspect for allegedly placing pipe bombs at the offices of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021.
Brian Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia, has been arrested and charged for allegedly placing the explosive devices at both locations, Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced December 4 during a press conference at the Department of Justice’s headquarters in the nation’s capital.
“Although almost five years have passed, this shows the FBI will never rest in bringing justice to those who endanger American lives and our communities,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The arrest was made earlier the same day in northern Virginia. FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro, and FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) Darren Cox joined Attorney General Bondi and our law enforcement partners in making the announcement.
Bondi praised the case breakthrough as the result of interagency collaboration. The investigation is ongoing, she added, with search warrants underway.
“We all worked hand-in-hand to solve this investigation,” ADIC Cox said. “This has been a long week … in D.C. After the terrorist attack last week, the grit and determination of the FBI and our law enforcement partners is an example to the American public of what cooperation, partnership, and selfless service can accomplish.”
Before the arrest, the FBI offered an award of up to $500,000 for information that helped identify the subject and released video footage of that individual to further aid in that identification.
However, Director Patel attributed the suspect’s apprehension to the FBI’s current leadership taking a number of critical steps—including bringing in a fresh team of investigators and experts, reexamining each piece of evidence, and sifting through troves of data. Specifically, Cox said investigators dissected over three million lines of data to identify the alleged pipe bomber.
“As a result of that, we generated numerous investigative leads, executed multiple legal processes with our U.S. attorney partners, and came to this conclusion today,” Patel said.
Patel thanked our Justice Department and interagency partners for their collaboration in the investigation and credited Deputy Director Bongino and Cox with spearheading the investigation.
“We do not forget, we do not let up, and we do not relent,” Cox said. “Though it had been nearly five years, our team continued to churn through massive amounts of data and tips that we used to identify this suspect.”
Bongino agreed.
“We were going to track this person to the end of the Earth,” he said. “There was no way he was getting away.”
Criminal charges are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
