Trial date set for DC pipe bomb suspect

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The Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the national Republican and Democratic Party headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack is set to go to trial in February, according to The Associated Press.

The outlet reported that District Judge Amir Ali set the trial date for Brian Cole Jr. during a brief hearing on Wednesday. It is expected to begin on Feb. 16 and last about two weeks.

Cole was arrested at his Virginia home last December following a nearly five-year investigation into the incident. He was indicted on four felony counts, including interstate transportation of explosives, malicious attempt to use explosives, attempt to use weapons of mass destruction and act of terrorism while armed.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted on the terrorism and weapons of mass destruction charges.

Authorities discovered pipe bombs near the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters in southeast Washington, D.C., in the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021. The devices did not detonate and were safely removed by the U.S. Capitol Police’s specialized bomb squad.

Video surveillance footage captured the suspect, later identified as Cole, walking in the surrounding neighborhood with a backpack between 7:30 and 8:20 p.m. on Jan. 5. He is accused of placing the pipe bombs within a span of about 20 minutes.

Cole’s legal team sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that President Trump’s sweeping pardons of Jan. 6 rioters applied to his alleged conduct.

“By the government’s own telling, this is exactly the kind of case that President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Presidential Pardon was invoked to reach,” attorneys Mario Williams and John Shoreman wrote in a March filing.

But Ali disagreed, ruling Monday that the pardon was “expressly limited” to those who had already been convicted of crimes related to the Capitol attack.

“Cole had not been convicted of the conduct at issue when the President issued the pardon; indeed, he was not charged until many months after the President’s proclamation,” Ali, a Biden appointee, wrote in a three-page order.

One of Cole’s lawyers told the judge on Wednesday that the defense team and prosecutors have not discussed the possibility of a plea deal, according to the AP.

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