The FBI arrested a man Thursday in connection to the investigation into who placed pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, events and eventual riot at the Capitol.
A man in Virginia was arrested Thursday morning, but no other additional details, like what charges the man will face, were immediately known, The Associated Press reported.
It was later reported that the man arrested is Brian Cole, 30, who lived in Woodbridge, Virginia, a suburb near Washington.
It’s the first time in the nearly five years since the incident happened that investigators have settled on a suspect.
The AP noted that the case was frustrating for investigators and sparked several conspiracy theories. The attempted bombings took place during the same time period that rioters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results.
The pipe bombs were placed on Jan. 5, 2021, near the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee offices.
The FBI said both devices could have been lethal, but no one was hurt and the bombs were disabled. However, after they were discovered, police were scrambling the morning of Jan. 6.
Video surveillance from the area showed a suspect wearing a hoodie and a face mask. Since the FBI was unable to identify a person for so long, the case was criticized by Republicans and current FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had suggested that it was an “inside job” since no arrests were made.
Over the years, the FBI sought the public’s help in identifying the suspect, or at least the suspect’s gender, but had no luck. In January, there appeared to be a new breakthrough, when investigators shared that they determined the suspect was 5-foot-7.
While the case seemed to be at a standstill, Bongino said last month that the FBI brought in new individuals to work on the case.
“We dramatically increased investigative resources, and we increased the public award for information in the case to utilize crowd-sourcing leads,” Bongino wrote.
Attorney General Pam Bondi joined Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel at a press conference Thursday afternoon to discuss the developments in the case. Bondi said the information had been “sitting at the FBI” for years under the Biden administration.
“Let me be clear, there was no new tip, there was no new witness, just good, diligent police work and prosecutorial work,” she said.
Patel issued a message to those who wish to attack American cities or institutions, “when you attack our nation’s capital, you attack the very being of our way of life.”
“I’m proud to stand here before you and say, we solved it,” Patel said. “He will have his day in court. The American public and the world will learn even more information through the legal process.”
“So we will divulge information when it is prudent and constitutionally permissible, while upholding the safeguards of this case to make sure that the people that this individual intended to victimize get the accountability they deserve,” he added.