Authorities arrested a Virginia man in connection to two pipe bombs placed outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees on the eve of the 6 January Capitol riot nearly five years ago.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI officials said Brian Cole Jr, 30, was arrested without incident early Thursday morning. He is charged with use of an explosive device and could face other charges as the investigation continues.
The arrest caps a years-long hunt for the assailant who planted the bombs, which involved an extensive investigation and a $500,000 (£375,000) reward.
The pipe bombs were safely deactivated and did not explode.
The FBI did not receive new information or a tip that cracked the case, officials said. Investigators sifted through existing evidence gathered over the years – including some three million lines of data – to identify the alleged suspect.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the Trump administration had made solving the case a priority.
“It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” she said.
Earlier this year, the FBI released CCTV footage of an individual with a backpack and light grey hooded sweater placing something near a bench outside the Democratic National Committee building in Washington. The person was shown later walking to place the second bomb.
Both were placed the night before the 6 January riot, and were only discovered as rioters began to storm the US Capitol.
At the time, US senators were meeting there to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Joe Biden had won, defeating Donald Trump.
Trump, who was president at the time, addressed a large crowd of supporters at a rally near the White House, where he urged them to march “peacefully” to the US Capitol, but also made unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud.
The crowd numbered between 2,000 and 2,500 people, and included members of far-right groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Many were carrying weapons.
Hundreds then forced their way into the building through windows and doors, overwhelming police. It took law enforcement almost four hours to restore order.
As the riot began, a passerby discovered the two pipe bombs, police said at the time. The items allegedly left behind included pipes, wires, kitchen timers, and homemade black powder, according to the FBI.
According to a CBS report, the bombs had one method of detonation: a 60-minute kitchen timer. But they ultimately did not explode for unknown reasons.
Police had been searching for a suspect ever since.
Many of those convicted or charged in relation to the riot have since been pardoned by Trump earlier this year, shortly after he took office for his second term in January.
Pardons or commutations were issued for more than 1,500 people. Trump also ordered the US Department of Justice to drop all pending cases against other suspects.
At the time, Trump referred to the accused and convicted as “the hostages”, and said that their lives had been “destroyed”.
“What they’ve done to these people is outrageous. There’s rarely been anything like it in the history of our country,” he had said.
