Overview
- Cole faces counts of transporting explosives and attempting to use an explosive device tied to two pipe bombs found on Jan. 6, 2021, near the RNC and DNC headquarters.
- Prosecutors say the devices were planted late on Jan. 5 and that their discovery diverted police resources during the Capitol unrest the next day.
- Authorities report he spent hours in FBI interviews, voiced a belief that the 2020 election was stolen, and allegedly confessed to placing the bombs.
- Defense attorneys argue the devices could not detonate, highlight his lack of violent history and autism diagnosis, and seek reversal of his detention order.
- The FBI arrested him in December at his parents’ Virginia home after a case that remained publicly unsolved for nearly five years, with surveillance video showing a masked individual.