More than four years after pipe bombs appeared outside the RNC and DNC headquarters on January 5, 2021, and less than a month after The Blaze fingered a former Capitol Police officer in a now-retracted report (that their sources still stand by), the Trump administration announced the arrest of Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, on Thursday. Cole has been charged under 18 U.S.C. § 844 for deploying an explosive device. 

During a press conference the day of the arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear how this cold case was finally solved. According to Bondi, no new tips or witnesses led to the breakthrough - just persistent investigation and teamwork.

“Today's arrest happened because the Trump Administration has made this case a priority. The total lack of movement on this case in our nation's capital undermined the public trust of our enforcement agencies,” she said. “This cold case languished for four years until Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino came to the FBI. The FBI, along with US Attorney Pirro and all of our prosecutors, have worked tirelessly for months sifting through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI with the Biden administration for four long years.”

Deputy Director Bongino also appeared on Fox News Thursday night. He explained to Sean Hannity that the truth about the J6 pipe bomber case had been sitting in plain sight for years, and the problem wasn’t a lack of evidence but a lack of leadership. “It's almost like they were intentionally trying to decimate faith in institutions,” he said.

“It's horrifying,” he added. “I don't know what they were doing.”

He explained that right after being sworn in - “probably 15 minutes later,” as he put it - he told the team, “When I get in there, I want a full brief on this pipe bomber case on day one.” Once he heard what had been done, he saw that the agents had put in real work, even “a pretty extensive amount of work,” but the case still needed urgent direction.

He blasted the old FBI brass for obsessing over politics while the case went cold. “I don’t know what the hell this prior leadership team was doing outside of… targeting political opponents, weaponizing the FBI, destroying its reputation,” he said. He argued that the agency’s credibility suffered because its leaders acted “almost like they were intentionally trying to decimate faith in institutions.”

According to Bongino, the agents had logged an enormous amount of legwork, including “thousands of leads, 6,000 plus interviews… hundreds of tips,” but the investigation had gone stale. He recalled pulling the case agent aside and telling him directly, “You’re gonna get me this guy… You’re gonna track this guy down, and you’re gonna find him. You’re gonna get me this guy. I want him.”

That order launched nearly nine months of work that led to the break they announced. He stressed that the success came from a full team effort across agencies. “You cannot do anything in the FBI without DOJ process,” he said, pointing to subpoenas, warrants, and filings handled by DOJ officials. He credited U.S. Attorney Pirro, Deputy Attorney General Blanche, and Attorney General Bondi, underscoring that “You cannot do anything in the FBI without DOJ process.” 

Now, questions remain about why the Biden-led Justice Department did not act sooner, despite having all the evidence necessary to catch Cole. 

There is speculation that the Biden administration was more interested in tracking down and prosecuting peaceful January 6 protesters, which may have diverted resources from this case. Others speculate about possible deliberate stalling or withholding of information for political reasons. 

By Thursday evening, we learned more details about Cole. The Daily Wire described him as a left-leaning, black activist whose background challenges the mainstream narrative about January 6. According to the report, Cole worked for his father’s bail bond business, which specialized in helping illegal immigrants secure release from ICE custody. The family’s company even sued the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security over immigration policy, and later, Cole and his father reportedly enlisted attorney Benjamin Crump to pressure Joe Biden’s Department of Justice to investigate alleged racial discrimination by a local prosecutor. The story suggests that these connections cast doubt on the longstanding narrative that the pipe bombs linked to Cole were part of an organized right-wing plot tied to the Capitol riot.

Yet - 'sources' are now telling CNN and NBC News that Cole believed that the 2020 election was stolen - as they're trying to make the case that he's a Trump supporter. 

The Biden administration’s handling of the pipe bomb investigation will likely draw further scrutiny as more details emerge.