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A federal magistrate judge on Friday declined to order the pretrial release of a man accused of planting two pipe bombs outside FBI headquarters. democracy and republican National parties in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ruled that Brian J. Cole Jr. must remain in jail pending trial. Magistrates concluded that no conditions of release could reasonably protect the public from the danger Cole allegedly posed.
Justice Department prosecutors say Cole admitted to planting pipe bombs outside building republican national committee Democratic National Committee headquarters just hours away from presidential mob Donald Trumpsupporters stormed the Capitol. According to prosecutors, Cole said he expected the explosives to detonate and “hoped there would be information about it.”
“Fortunately, that didn’t happen,” Schaab wrote. “But if the plan succeeds, the results could be devastating,” he said, “creating an even greater sense of terror and causing severe property damage in the city center on the eve of high-security congressional proceedings.” washingtonWashington, D.C., seriously injuring Democratic National Committee or Republican National Committee staff and other innocent bystanders, or worse. “
After his arrest last month, Cole told investigators that he believed someone needed to “give a voice” to those who believe the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen, and that he wanted to target the country’s political parties because they were “responsible,” prosecutors said.
If convicted of both charges against him, Cole faces up to 10 years in prison on one charge and up to 20 years in prison on the second charge, with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison.
Cole’s lawyers have asked that he be released and placed under house arrest at his home with GPS monitoring. They said Cole had no criminal record, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and lived with his parents in a stable home in Woodbridge, Virginia.
“Mr. Cole poses no danger to the community at all,” the defense attorney wrote. “Any risks raised by the government are theoretical and backward-looking, as evidenced by the lack of incident over the past four years Mr Cole has lived at home with his family.”
In the months after the Jan. 6 riot, Cole continued to buy bomb-making components, according to prosecutors. They said Cole told the FBI that he planted the pipe bomb because “something snapped.”
“The sudden and sudden motivation behind Mr. Cole’s alleged actions raises concerns about how quickly the same sudden and impulsive behavior might occur again,” Schaab wrote.