Man accused of placing pipe bombs near GOP and Democratic headquarters in Washington to remain in jail pending trial

Brian Cole Jr. in federal court. (Dana Verkouteren via CNN Newsource)

The man accused of being the Washington, D.C., pipe bomber will remain in jail until he faces trial, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The decision to keep Brian Cole Jr., who allegedly placed explosives outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee buildings on Jan. 5, 2021, was made two days after a hearing in which prosecutors argued that Cole would pose a danger to others if he were released and allowed to live with his family.

Judge Matthew Sharbaugh wrote that: “The sudden and abrupt motivation behind Mr. Cole’s alleged actions presents concerns about how quickly the same abrupt and impulsive conduct might recur.”

He continued: “More, Mr. Cole reportedly told the FBI that he assembled the IEDs ‘in the hours before he drove to Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021.’”

Cole has yet to enter a plea to the charges. No trial date has been set.

Sharbaugh said the speed at which Cole was able to allegedly assemble the bombs “suggest he can prepare dangerous explosive devices in short order, over a matter of hours, not necessarily days or weeks.”

“Given the precipitousness with which Mr. Cole reportedly acted, and the speed with which he was able to construct the so-called ‘pipe bombs,’ the Court lacks confidence that even the most rigorous set of release conditions can reasonably guard against the risk of future danger,” the judge wrote.

Sharbaugh added too that he shared concerns with prosecutors about how Cole allegedly deleted evidence and continued to purchase alleged bomb making parts after Cole allegedly placed the two bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee buildings.

Cole’s attorney argued he should be released into his grandmother’s custody.

Cole’s grandmother took the stand herself, promising to “make any adjustments that I need to make” to keep him out of trouble, adding that she had already placed cameras around the exterior of her home inside a gated community.

His defence attorney also stressed that Cole has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, two factors that should be considered for both his mindset in committing the alleged crimes and for his ability to navigate being in jail.

Further complicating the matter is that the Justice Department has secured an indictment against Cole that had not yet been accepted by a judge. Sharbaugh explained during the hearing that a grand jury in the local Superior Court in Washington, rather than the federal court, had handed up an indictment against Cole, and that he was watching a separate case with a similar issue move through the appeals process to determine what to do in Cole’s case.

A person familiar with the matter said that prosecutors used a superior court grand jury only because the federal grand juries were not meeting at the time.