Police finally arrest suspected J6 pipe bomber, why did it take so long?
By Easton Martin | December 4, 2025
Federal authorities have arrested Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, in connection with the pipe bombs placed near the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on the night of January 5, 2021. The devices were discovered the next day as unrest at the Capitol was ongoing.
The arrest follows nearly five years of investigative work that involved hundreds of tips, thousands of hours of video review, extensive forensic analysis and more than 1,000 interviews. Investigators say there was no single breakthrough. Instead, the case moved forward after a fresh examination of evidence already in government hands, including surveillance footage, cell tower data and records of component purchases.
Cole was taken into custody in Virginia on December 4. He is expected to make his initial court appearance in Washington, where he faces federal explosives charges.
The FBI had long described the investigation as one of its most complex, partly because the suspect was heavily concealed in the original footage and left behind little usable DNA.
