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FBI Director Kash Patel accused the Biden administration of letting the investigation into the 2021 Washington, DC pipe bombs stall for years before agents arrested a suspect on Thursday.
Patel said officials “sat on the evidence” and failed to review key material that ultimately led investigators to identify 30‑year‑old Brian Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia.
- FBI Director Kash Patel accused the Biden administration of stalling the DC pipe bomb investigation for years before making an arrest.
- Officials claim evidence was 'sat on' and key materials were not reexamined under the Biden administration, hindering progress.
- Brian Cole Jr., arrested for planting pipe bombs outside party headquarters in 2021, has been linked through bank and cell phone data.
Patel told Fox News at Night that agents under the previous administration had not re‑examined the case.
Kash Patel accused the Biden administration of sitting on evidence for the DC pipe bomb investigation
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“The prior administration sat on the evidence for four years,” Patel said. “There wasn’t any production of new evidence from five years ago.”
Cole is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington today to be formally arraigned on charges of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committees on January 5, 2021, hours after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol.
“Here’s what we did — we went out to the country, brought in our experts, and Deputy Director [Dan] Bongino led the charge and said, ‘We are going to look at every single piece of evidence again,’” Patel said.
Investigators used bank records and cell phone data to connect Cole to the construction and placement of the pipe bombs, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Image credits: Tom Williams/Getty Images
Authorities believe the activity began in 2019, two years before the devices appeared outside the party headquarters in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Officials believe the devices found were viable pipe bombs built from galvanized steel pipes, nine‑volt batteries, and kitchen items.
They allege Cole purchased the items from several retailers around northern Virginia, including eight different Home Depots, a Micro Center, Lowes, and Walmart.
“We looked at three million lines of evidence,” Patel told Fox News host Trace Gallagher.
“We went back and looked at the cell phone tower data dumps. We went back and looked at the providers and what information they provided pursuant to search warrants at the time and asked questions, such as ‘Why weren’t all the phone numbers scrubbed?’ and ‘Why weren’t they connected?’ and ‘Why wasn’t there any geolocational data done?’”
Patel added, “Now that is either sheer incompetence or complete intentional negligence, neither of which is acceptable for this FBI. So, we changed that in the prior eight months, not on just this case, but everyone. And what that did was allow us to narrow the search down.”
Patel said investigators used bank records and phone data to connect Cole to the bombs
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a former Fox News host, said the pipe bomb investigation was a top priority for him. In a 2024 podcast, Bongino had said he believed the bomb was the work of “either a connected anti-Trump insider or this was an inside job.”
Addressing these comments to his former colleague, Sean Hannity, Bongino said, “I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear. And one day, I’ll be back in that space. But that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”
He added that the investigators are “pretty comfortable we have our guy.”
Hours after the arrest, officials released additional background on Cole.
A picture of him that appeared on his mother’s Instagram page in September 2024 resurfaced publicly for the first time after the arrest.
Officials said agents arrested him at his family’s Woodbridge home.
At a press conference, US Attorney Pam Bondi echoed Patel’s comments, saying the arrest took place owing to the Trump administration.
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“The total lack of movement in this case in our nation’s capital undermined the public trust of our enforcement agencies,” Bondi said, adding that the evidence the FBI used to track down Cole was “collecting dust” and being disregarded by the Biden administration.
Cole faces charges of using an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials.
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