FIRST DETAILS FROM J6 PIPE BOMBERS CONFESSION.
The Virginia man arrested and charged with placing pipe bombs outside of the Republican and Democratic National Committees the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol told investigators in a lengthy confession that he wasn’t targeting the joint session of Congress that was convening to certify former President Joe Biden’s election win, according to a new court filing.
In a multiple-hour interview with authorities following his Dec. 4 arrest, Brian Cole allegedly admitted his actions in placing the pipe bombs after initially denying any involvement, prosecutors said.
Cole denied in the interview being an openly political person, but said in the wake of the 2020 election, he began following news on YouTube and Reddit and felt like “something was wrong” and that people who felt “that their votes are like just being thrown away” were being ignored, according to prosecutors.
“When asked why he placed the devices at the RNC and DNC, the defendant responded, ‘I really don’t like either party at this point,'” prosecutors said in their filing, describing the interview. “[Cole] also explained that the idea to use pipe bombs came from his interest in history, specifically the Troubles in Ireland. The defendant denied that his actions were directed toward Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled to take place on January 6.”
Cole allegedly said in the interview that he had actually intended for the devices to detonate and set 60-minute timers on both after planting them outside of the DNC and RNC. After leaving them, he said he went to his car, picked up food from a restaurant in Virginia and then returned home.