D.C. pipe bomb suspect, Brian Cole Jr., hit with 2 new charges

The man accused of planting pipe bombs outside of the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot now faces two additional felony charges, according to a superseding indictment made public Wednesday.

Brian Cole Jr. was arrested and charged in December with transporting and planting the two IEDs at the DNC and RNC headquarters. The new indictment adds charges of attempting to use weapons of mass destruction and committing an act of terrorism while armed.

The bombs did not detonate, but the FBI has said they were viable. The case had gone cold for years, and Trump administration officials described solving it as a top priority.

Cole pleaded not guilty to the initial charges against him but has not been arraigned on the new indictment. In January, Cole was ordered to be detained in jail in the run-up to his criminal trial.

In court filings last year, the Justice Department said that Cole told investigators that he believed that the 2020 election had been tampered with and that “someone needs to speak up.” Over the course of a 90-minute interview, investigators said, he “walked the interviewing agents in detail through his construction, transportation, and planting of the pipe bombs.”

Read more: CBS News