Lawyers for the man charged with planting pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic national committees’ headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, said in a new court filing that he should be covered by President Donald Trump’s blanket pardon of Jan. 6 defendants.
The attorneys for Brian Cole maintained his innocence but also argued that if he did place the pipe bombs, Trump’s pardon of people involved in “events ... at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” would cover his alleged actions.
“The devices at issue in this case were discovered and neutralized on the afternoon of January 6, 2021, at the national party headquarters on Capitol Hill—literally ‘at or near’ the United States Capitol—as the day’s larger events unfolded,” attorney Mario Williams wrote in a motion to dismiss the case.
Williams argued that, like many of the Jan. 6 defendants, Cole was “motivated by grievances about the 2020 presidential election,” adding that his grievances were “directed at the headquarters of the two national political parties on Capitol Hill,” with the timing of “the January 6 certification of the electoral college vote.”
Cole told the FBI he believed in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, as NBC News first reported following his arrest in December. Dan Bongino, who stepped down as the bureau's deputy director in January, had fueled conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs on his podcast, saying they were an "inside job" to stop Trump. “This was a setup. I have zero doubt,” Bongino said in 2024. Asked about his previous comments following Cole's arrest, Bongino said in December that, as a podcaster, he was paid for his "opinions," whereas the FBI based its investigations "on facts."
The lack of an arrest in connection with the pipe bomb fueled further conspiracy theories about the identity of the perpetrator. In November, less than a month before Cole's arrest, the FBI pushed back against a report from a conservative media outlet that suggested a former Capitol Police officer was the pipe bomber. That outlet retracted its story after Cole's arrest.
Cole’s lawyers compare him to two Jan. 6 defendants in particular — Kenneth Harrelson and David Dempsey.
Dempsey, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison and was described by federal prosecutors as “one of the most violent” rioters, was covered by the pardon. Harrelson was sentenced to two years in prison for transporting firearms and ammunition into Washington. His sentence was also commuted.
“If Harrelson received a commuted sentence for transporting firearms and ammunition for use against our government, then the government seems to be wasting our time trying to convict Mr. Cole for allegedly transporting explosive materials to the D.C. area,” Williams wrote, adding that devices Cole is alleged to have had did not explode or injure anyone.
“On the government’s own narrative, Mr. Cole’s alleged conduct is not at the margins of the Pardon; the alleged conduct sits at its center,” Williams wrote, adding that “there is no serious dispute” that Cole’s alleged conduct is treated differently from the definition of the Jan. 6, 2021, events in Trump’s pardon.
Cole’s attorneys said all of the alleged activity is tied to downtown Washington and the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results on Jan. 6.
“The government’s own narrative also squarely places Mr. Cole’s alleged actions in the political and temporal setting of January 6, 2021,” they wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arguments and whether Trump's pardon was intended to cover defendants like Cole.
Trump issued his pardon at the beginning of his second term. Cole was charged almost a year later.
Cole was arrested on Dec. 4 and charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. Federal prosecutors said in a request to keep him behind bars as he awaits trial that Cole felt “extreme acts of violence” were justified because “they were in charge,” expressing dislike for both political parties.
A judge in January ordered that Cole remain detained ahead of his trial, ruling that he posed a “potential danger” to the public. His lawyers had submitted a motion for his release, citing an autism diagnosis.
