Overview
- A three-page order from U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali denied a defense motion to dismiss on Monday, leaving the criminal case against Brian Cole Jr. intact.
- Federal authorities say Cole placed two viable pipe bombs outside the DNC and RNC on the night of Jan. 5, 2021; he was arrested in December 2025 and has pleaded not guilty.
- Judge Ali found the pardon’s plain language covers those who had been "convicted of offenses" when it issued, and Cole was neither charged nor convicted at that time.
- Prosecutors say their case rests on surveillance video, phone and location records, license‑plate reads, purchase records and an alleged post‑arrest confession, and they added terrorism and weapons‑of‑mass‑destruction counts earlier this year.
- The decision narrows the legal reach of President Trump’s broad Jan. 6 clemency order, preserves high‑penalty federal charges against Cole, and leaves the case active with no trial date set.