CNN: J6 Pipe Bomb Suspect “Believed The 2020 Election Was Stolen”
CNN correspondent Evan Perez reports that the 30-year-old suspect in the January 6 pipe bomb case, Brian Cole Junior of Virginia, told FBI interrogators yesterday that he believed the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.”
CNN: We’re getting some more details on the man accused of planting pipe bombs right near the U.S. Capitol on the eve of January 6th. Sources tell CNN the 30-year-old suspect in this case, Brian Cole Junior, told investigators after his arrest he believed the 2020 election was stolen, providing the first indication into a possible motive. EVAN PEREZ, CNN: Well, Brian Cole, the suspect in this case, sat for hours of interviews yesterday with the FBI. And among the statements that he made was that he believed the 2020 election was stolen. Now, that is a significant piece of information simply because there’s been so much conspiracy, there’s been a lot of speculation as to exactly what the motivation could be. Certainly because, if you remember, those bombs were planted on January 5th of 2021, the day before the Capitol riot. They were discovered that afternoon of January 6th, 2021, just as the mob of MAGA supporters was breaking through the first cordon of police lines and then, of course, ransacking the Capitol. So the FBI investigators, for a long time, were trying to figure out whether the two things were connected. Now, there’s certainly a lot more to learn about what his motivation was and whether this really explains everything. But certainly, that statement that he provided to investigators in the last 24 hours is the beginning of the story here. We know that the FBI did a lot of work over the last five years. You heard from the attorney general and the deputy FBI director in the last 24 hours describing a lot of the investigative work that is still to be done. But one of the key things that happened here was figuring out the cell phone location for this suspect that matched some of the other evidence. That only happened, Wolf, in the last few weeks, I’m told, as part of this investigation. And that is really remarkable when you think about an investigation that has cost millions of dollars and has included dozens – perhaps even more than 100 – agents working on this case since it happened back in 2021. WOLF BLITZER: And as you know, the deputy FBI director, Dan Bongino, is now distancing himself from various conspiracy theories he actually helped push about this case when he was a podcaster. What’s he saying? EVAN PEREZ: Right. Well, when he was a podcaster, that was just 11 months ago that he was on his podcast, and one of the things he said was that he believed the FBI had not revealed who the bomber was because it was an “inside job.” SEAN HANNITY (CLIP): You put a post on X right after this happened and you said there’s a massive cover-up because the person that planted those pipe bombs, they don’t want you to know who it is because it’s either a connected anti-Trump insider or an inside job. DAN BONGINO (CLIP): I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear. And one day I’ll be back in that space. But that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts. EVAN PEREZ: And look, you know, I was at that press conference yesterday, and I raised my hand repeatedly. I did not get called on, but that is actually Hannity asking the question that I wanted to ask, which was essentially: Do you still believe that this was an inside job? Because, you know, the deputy FBI director, since he arrived at the FBI, has been very fixated on this case. He has been pushing people to try to solve it. And so the solution appears to be that they’ve now made an arrest, they’ve resolved the case, according to the FBI. And some of the answers that we’re getting now as part of the interviews appear to show not the narrative that the former podcaster – I’m sorry, the deputy FBI director – was pushing for so long.
