WASHINGTON — A federal magistrate judge on Friday ordered that the Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs in the nation’s capital on Jan. 5, 2021, remains detained ahead of his trial, determining that he posed a "potential danger" to the public.
Federal prosecutors allege that Brian Cole, 30, planted explosive devices at the Republican and Democratic parties' headquarters nearly five years ago. He’s been in custody since his Dec. 4 arrest, when he was charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials.
“Although home incarceration and a GPS monitor would provide some check against Mr. Cole’s ability to carry out any menacing or dangerous conduct in the community, the Court is simply not satisfied these conditions rise to the necessary level,” Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh wrote in his ruling.
“This is particularly true based on the severity of the potential danger Mr. Cole is alleged to pose, given his alleged persistent acquisition and retention of so-called 'bombmaking parts,' and given his reported penchant and capacity to create explosive devices and deploy them in public settings.”
“If the plan had succeeded, the results could have been devastating: creating a greater sense of terror on the eve of a high-security Congressional proceeding, causing serious property damage in the heart of Washington, D.C., grievously injuring DNC or RNC staff and other innocent bystanders, or worse,” Sharbaugh wrote.
Cole has not yet entered a plea in the case.
Cole's attorneys wanted him to be released into the custody of his grandmother. The government objected to his release, describing him as showing a pattern of "comprehensive deception" and saying it did not trust him to keep to the conditions of his release.
In a federal court filing on Tuesday, Cole’s attorneys said he has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The filing described his diagnosis as a mild form of autism.
Defense attorney Mario Williams told the judge on Tuesday that Cole has spent the last five years following the same routine as he typically does and has kept the same job with his family’s bail bonds business over several years with no attempt to flee. Cole’s autism and OCD disorder is partially why he follows the same routines every day, Williams said.
Cole’s attorneys argued that the government has not presented any evidence that suggests evasive conduct or resistance to law enforcement.
But in a motion filed Sunday, the government alleged that Cole wore a face mask and gloves the night he planted the bombs, as well as wiping down the bombs with disinfectant. The government said Cole also performed a factory reset of his phone more than 900 times between December 2020 and the day he was arrested.
Federal prosecutors urged the judge to keep Cole in detention, alleging that Cole felt “extreme acts of violence” were justified because of his dislike of both political parties. The motion said that the man told FBI agents that “something just snapped” after he had watched “everything getting worse.”
He directed his ire at the Democratic and Republican parties because “they were in charge,” Cole told agents, according to the government filing.
Prosecutors confirmed in the filing Sunday that Cole told agents he thought it looked like “something was wrong” with the election and that he followed the situation on platforms such as YouTube and Reddit. According to prosecutors, Cole said that Trump supporters who believed the election was being “tampered with” shouldn’t be called “conspiracy theorists,” “bad people,” “Nazis,” or “fascists.”
He is alleged to have told agents that he didn’t align politically with his family members and that he didn’t tell them he was “going to a protest in support of [then President] Trump.”
Cole was allegedly inspired to use pipe bombs by his interest in The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the sectarian war between Catholics and Protestants that escalated into violence in the 1970s. The violence, which included bombing attacks, went on for three decades.
According to the government’s filing, Cole did not test the devices before planting them and they failed to go off as planned.
“Ultimately, it was luck, not lack of effort, that the defendant failed to detonate one or both of his devices and that no one was killed or maimed due to his actions,” the government filing said. “Indeed, the defendant admitted that he set both devices to detonate 60 minutes after he placed them.”
Gary Grumbach reported from Washington, D.C. Doha Madani reported from New York City.
