J6 pipe bomber suspect not a Trump supporter: family

The suspect behind the pipe bombs planned near Capitol Hill on the night before January 6, 2021, is reportedly not politically affiliated, according to family members, despite earlier reports suggesting he was a Trump supporter.

Brian Cole has been charged with placing explosive devices outside the DNC and RNC headquarters that did not detonate. While MSNOW (formerly MSNBC) reported that Cole confessed to FBI investigators and claimed to be a Trump supporter with anarchist views, The Daily Mail cited Cole’s family as disputing that characterization.

His grandmother, Loretta, said Cole is a recluse who lives in his mother’s basement in Virginia, works a data entry job, and has been grieving the loss of his pet dog.

“He’s not politically affiliated with anything,” she said in an interview. “He has no social media contacts. He’s never online going back and forth with politics or anything like that. He says he don’t like either party.”

Loretta described Cole as “borderline autistic” and said he has the mind of a 16-year-old despite being around 30 years old. “That’s why we’re thinking – What the hell? What’s going on?” she said.

She also said FBI agents visited her office the day Cole was arrested and that her son, Brian Cole Sr, had a message passed to him at the arraignment on Friday.

“We were told that the main thing he’s very upset about is that he disappointed us, that he got locked up,” she said. “We told him we’re out here, we’re going to make sure thing’s taken care of.”

Cole has been charged with unlawful transportation of an explosive device in interstate commerce with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, as well as malicious destruction or attempted malicious destruction. He faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years.