Man accused in Capitol Hill pipe bomb case set for trial in February

Brian Cole Jr. was set to go to trial in February in the Capitol Hill pipe bomb case, a federal judge said during a hearing Wednesday, keeping alive one of the last major unresolved criminal episodes tied to the Jan. 6 attack.

Cole, a Virginia man, is accused in federal court of placing two pipe bombs on Jan. 5, 2021, between about 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., one behind Republican National Committee headquarters at 310 First St. SE and the other near Democratic National Committee headquarters at 430 South Capitol St. SE, #3. The bombs did not detonate, but the FBI has said the devices were viable and could have seriously injured or killed people.

The case has remained a priority for the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police. The FBI is still offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest and conviction, underscoring how much attention the investigation has drawn from federal and local law enforcement since the bombs were found.

Investigators have pointed to a detailed trail of evidence. In September 2021, the FBI released a route map and new video showing the suspect moving through residential and commercial blocks in Capitol Hill, including footage of the suspect seated on a bench near the DNC before placing the bomb there. The bureau also said the suspect may have been operating from the vicinity of Folger Park, narrowing the geography of the search in a neighborhood just blocks from the Capitol.

Court records show the underlying federal case was opened in April 2021 under the name Michael Fitzgerald and later unsealed after Fitzgerald’s arrest in Wisconsin, before the docket became associated with Cole. Recent proceedings have centered on detention, and a magistrate judge ruled in January 2026 that Cole must remain jailed while awaiting trial.

Prosecutors have also said in court filings that Cole gave a detailed confession after his December 2025 arrest. They said he told investigators he was disappointed in the 2020 election results, that he was not targeting Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s victory, and that he wanted to send a message because he did not like either party. He also allegedly said he had been influenced by election-fraud conspiracy theories on Reddit and YouTube.

Planted hours before the Capitol attack and amid the broader effort to overturn the 2020 election, the pipe bomb case has become one of the most consequential unanswered threads from that week.