“Mr. Cole, the next step in your case is you’re going to come back to court for your detention hearing,” the judge said in the Friday afternoon hearing.
Brian Cole Jr, the man who has been charged with planting pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC in Washington DC on January 5, 2021, made his first court appearance on Friday before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya.
Per CNN, Cole, who was wearing a tan jumpsuit, was read his rights and a December 15 detention hearing was set. "Mr. Cole, the next step in your case is you’re going to come back to court for your detention hearing," the judge said in the Friday afternoon hearing.
During his court appearance, Cole vowed to answer all questions honestly, told the judge he graduated from high school, and hadn’t taken any drugs or alcohol that would impair his ability to understand the proceedings. He is being represented by attorney John Shoreman, per NBC News.
Cole has been charged with unlawful transportation of an explosive device in interstate commerce with the intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, and malicious destruction or attempt of malicious destruction. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The arrest made on Thursday at the Cole family’s Woodbridge, Virginia home comes nearly five years after surveillance footage captured a person placing pipe bombs outside of the RNC and DNC’s headquarters in Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The bombs were not discovered until the following day, giving time for the suspect to escape.
Authorities say that in the years leading up to the incident, Cole made purchases of items that were "consistent with the components that were used to manufacture the pipe bombs placed at the RNC and DNC." Cole’s cellphone was also found to have been in use and connected to cellphone towers in the area during the time that the bombs were placed, and his car was captured by a nearby license plate reader.
The surveillance footage captured a person wearing a hoodie, face mask, and gloves, making it difficult to identify the person. The reward for information leading to an arrest was raised by the FBI to $500,000.
Cole spent hours with FBI investigators following his arrest and made multiple statements, people briefed on the matter told CNN, including that he believed the 2020 election was stolen.
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