The suspect in the attempted homemade bomb attack on the political headquarters in 2021 appeared in court today for a pre-trial detention hearing.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The man accused of planting two pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., the night before the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, appeared again in federal court today. This is the second time Brian Cole Jr. has appeared in court since his arrest earlier this month following a nearly five-year investigation. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas was in court today and joins us now. Hi Ryan.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Hi.
DETROW: Before we get into today's hearing, remind us who Cole is and what he's accused of.
LUCAS: So Cole was arrested a little less than a month ago. He is 30 years old. He is African American. He lived with his mother in Virginia near D.C. and worked in the family bail bond business. But prosecutors say Cole is the man who planted two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Party headquarters here in D.C. on January 5, 2021, which is why the night before, as you said, a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The homemade bombs did not explode. They were found on January 6. They were scattered, but for almost five years the FBI tried to track down the criminal who planted them. And for almost five years they stood empty.
DETROW: So what ultimately led them to Cole?
LUCAS: FBI Director Cash Patel said the FBI, under the current administration, has brought in a new team of agents and specialists to scrutinize all the evidence the bureau has collected. And the trail they found in financial statements and cell phone records ultimately led them to Cole. He was arrested. He now faces two criminal charges: transportation of an explosive device with intent to kill and attempted malicious destruction using explosive materials.
DETROW: Cole was in court again today. What was the hearing about?
LUCAS: So it was a detention hearing. The focus has been on whether Cole should remain in jail while the case moves toward trial. Now the government wants Cole to remain locked up. Prosecutors say he poses a serious danger to the public. He is said to have evaded arrest for nearly five years, hid his bomb-making activities from his family, continued to purchase bomb-making components after the events of January 6, 2021, and took actions to cover his tracks.
They also say that after Cole was arrested, he voluntarily spoke with investigators. And they say Cole admitted to making these pipe bombs, transporting them and planting them. Cole allegedly also told them that he needed to, quote unquote, “speak out” for people who believe the 2020 election, which Donald Trump lost, was fraudulent. And it's interesting because this is really the first hint of a possible motive for Cole that we've seen prosecutors put forward in their filings or in their statements in court.
DETROW: What did you hear from Cole's lawyers?
LUCAS: So they didn't address his alleged confession, and they didn't challenge the seriousness of the alleged conduct. But on the question of whether he should be detained pending trial, they want to release him. His lawyer, Mario Williams, said Cole suffers from autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He also said that Cole has no criminal history and that he poses no threat to society and, in fact, has deep community and family ties. And I will add that today in the courtroom there were two rows filled with family members who supported Cole.
Williams also said Cole's last purchase of suspected bomb-making components was in 2022, three years ago, and that nothing was done with them. He also said Cole did not collude with anyone. He didn't accumulate anything. The defense is proposing Cole's release under strict conditions and supervision. He will live with his grandmother. Williams also said Cole would not have been able to survive physically or emotionally his time in the D.C. jail or anywhere else.
DETROV: What did the court ultimately decide?
LUCAS: So Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh heard both sides. He asked a lot of questions before taking about a 20 minute break. He then returned to the courtroom. We were waiting for a decision. And he said that he would take the whole matter into consideration. This was too important and sensitive an issue to be decided from the bench. Therefore, he said, he will need a day or two to consider everything before making a decision.
DETROW: This is NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thank you very much.
LUCAS: Thank you.
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