Brian Cole, 30, who is under suspicion for allegedly planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., conveyed to the FBI that he thought the 2020 presidential election was compromised, according to a new report.
As per CNN’s coverage, citing sources familiar with the investigation, Cole expressed his doubts about the 2020 election’s validity during his interviews with FBI agents. He was detained on Thursday and is set to be formally charged on Friday for placing pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican National Committee offices the night before the Capitol riot in January 2021.
Reports indicate that Cole spent several hours with FBI personnel making “numerous statements.” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirmed that he engaged with investigators but chose not to disclose specifics on what Cole said.
Key officials, such as FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, have used Cole’s arrest to criticize the handling of the case by the Justice Department and the FBI under the previous administration headed by Joe Biden. They allege that vital evidence was overlooked in the years leading up to this arrest.
“For four years, the previous administration buried the evidence,” Patel mentioned during a Fox News interview on Thursday. “There was no new evidence made available from five years ago.”
Bondi echoed similar sentiments the following day, stating that the investigation had been stuck in limbo during Biden’s time in office.
“This case was neglected and left to gather dust for years,” she emphasized. “No actions were taken to push this forward.”
Patel explained that investigators finally managed to identify the suspect by analyzing existing records, such as cellphone data, as well as specific footwear he was wearing.
“We examined the data from cellphone towers,” he noted. “We checked with providers about the information they handed over to the authorities at the time and raised questions about why phone records weren’t thoroughly investigated and geo-locational data wasn’t collected. It either shows extreme incompetence or willful negligence, both of which are unacceptable for the FBI.”
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