From the Associated Press: President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol also should apply to a man charged with planting pipe bombs near the national headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, the suspect’s attorneys argue in a bid to get his case dismissed.
In a court filing Monday, defense attorneys assert that Trump’s blanket pardons extend to the charges against Brian J. Cole Jr. because his alleged conduct on Jan. 5, 2021, is “inextricably tethered” to what happened at the Capitol on the following day. They’re asking U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to throw out the case before trial.
Justice Department prosecutors didn’t immediately respond in writing to the defense’s request. In a previous court filing, prosecutors said Cole, under questioning by FBI agents, denied that his actions were related to the Jan. 6 proceedings at the Capitol.
On his first day back in the White House last year, Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of all 1,500-plus people charged in the attack by a mob of his supporters.
After a five-year investigation into who planted the pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC headquarters, the FBI arrested Cole, 30, on December 4, 2025.
Now Cole, who reportedly confessed that he planted the bombs, is trying to claim that he should be covered under President Donald Trump’s blanket pardon of the January 6 defendants who had been prosecuted by the Biden administration.
Cole, who has remained jailed since his arrest, was previously living with his mother in Woodbridge, Virginia. He has been diagnosed with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
BREAKING: DC pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr admitted to planting the devices, expressed doubts about 2020 election outcome, source tells @davidspunt @JakeBGibson pic.twitter.com/IUOQe73q9s
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 5, 2025
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