Suspect in DC pipe bomb case said to have confessed in interviews with investigators, AP sources say

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of planting a pair of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington on the eve of the U.S. Capitol attack confessed to the act in interviews with investigators, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Brian Cole Jr. also indicated that he believed the 2020 election was stolen and expressed views supportive of President Donald Trump, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss by name an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The details add to a still-emerging portrait of the 30-year-old suspect from Woodbridge, Virginia, and it was not immediately clear what other information or perspectives he may have shared while cooperating with law enforcement following his arrest on Thursday.

Federal authorities have not publicly disclosed any information about a possible motive or whether there is any connection to the attack on the Capitol the following day by Trump supporters.

A spokesperson for the federal public defender’s office, which will be representing Cole at a Friday court appearance in Washington, declined to comment. Calls to relatives of Cole listed in public records were not immediately returned Thursday.

Cole faces explosives charges in connection with the Jan. 5, 2021 placement of the pipe bombs near the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees. Nobody was hurt before the bombs were rendered safe, but the FBI has said both devices could have been lethal.

An FBI affidavit made public Thursday indicated that investigators zeroed in on Cole through analysis of credit card charges related to the purchase of pipe bomb components, cellphone towers and a license plate reader.

The arrest marks the first time investigators have publicly identified a suspect in an act that has been an enduring mystery for nearly five years in the shadow of the violent Capitol attack.