DC Pipe Bomb Suspect: 'Something Just Snapped'

Federal prosecutors say the man accused of planting pipe bombs near both major political parties' headquarters in Washington, DC, on Jan. 5, 2021, told investigators he was trying to "speak up" for people who believed the 2020 election was rigged and to strike at both parties because of how much power they hold. In a newly filed Justice Department memo, authorities say 30-year-old Brian Cole Jr. described a breaking point before he allegedly left two devices outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee buildings on the eve of the Capitol riot, the New York Post reports.

"Something just snapped," he allegedly told agents, adding that if voters think a federal election is being undermined, "tampered with," or "relegated null and void," then "someone needs to speak up … just to at the very least calm things down," according to the filing. Cole allegedly said he chose the RNC and DNC because he wanted to do something "to the parties" because "they were in charge," and that he doesn't like "either party at this point." Surveillance footage cited by prosecutors appears to show him placing the explosives near both party headquarters; images of at least one of the devices outside the RNC circulated widely on Jan. 6, 2021.

Cole was arrested Dec. 4 at his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, after what officials described as a multi-agency investigation. He is charged with use of an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. The bombs did not detonate, the AP reports.