On January 6, bombing suspect believed 2020 election conspiracy theories and acted out of ‘frustration with the world around him’

One of the enduring mysteries of January 6, who planted pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC, has, according to the DOJ, been solved. Prosecutors charged Brian Cole, a Virginia man, for the incident; according to a filing in his case Sunday, he confessed to FBI agents after his arrest.

But there’s another question that lingers: How will the MAGAfied DOJ address Cole’s motive in this case?

The original indictment was notably silent on what Cole may have believed he was accomplishing by allegedly planting pipe bombs on January 5. An affidavit said officers tied him to the area via cell tower tracking. His purchases over the previous days and weeks included components matching those used in bombs.

But, some skeptics noted after the initial charges were dropped, the initial charges omitted any evidence the FBI might have collected regarding Cole’s communications before January 6, nor any assertions regarding Cole’s motive.

That changed with a detention memo on Sunday, which offers a dramatic account of how Cole allegedly confessed during interrogation by FBI agents.

At first, the memo says, Cole denied planting the bombs.

But after further questioning, a reminder that it’s a crime to lie to federal agents, and after being shown an image of a pair of sneakers the suspect was wearing that day and video footage of the bomber, Cole allegedly admitted it was him.

From there, prosecutors said, Cole explained to agents the logistics of how he built and planted the bombs. He watched YouTube videos and consulted a video game on how to make black powder, the incendiary element in pipe bombs, and used Google Maps to find a place to place the explosives, the memo said. Cole, it goes, tried to cover his tracks: He used disinfectant wipes to clean the pipe bombs, then wiped his phone 943 times before his arrest this year.

Cole told the FBI he believed conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen.

If people “feel that, you know, something as important as voting in federal elections is being tampered with, is, you know, is, you know, relegated null and void, then, like, someone has to speak up, right? Someone from the top. You know, just to, just to at least calm things down,” the memo quotes Cole as saying.

The question of how motive applies to political violence is at the center of much debate among those who track these cases and hope to prevent them. Often, former DHS counterterrorism officials told TPM earlier this year, extreme ideologies are a way for people with other problems to “self-medicate,” potentially serving as a pretext for an act they might already have wanted to commit.

This academic debate of course ignores the dual presidency of Donald Trump, who encouraged violence on January 6 and continues to use the bully pulpit (and the powers of power) to incite violence against his opponents.

This is a fact that prosecutors tried to circle around in the detention memo.

When FBI agents returned to question Cole about his motives, prosecutors said, Cole noted that he placed the bombs on the RNC and DNC because he didn’t like “either side at this point.” He added that the idea came partly from research into the Troubles in Northern Ireland; Cole, prosecutors said, “denied that his actions were directed against Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled for January 6.”

The DOJ is increasingly redirecting its counterterrorism efforts toward left-wing groups, notably “Antifa,” using the catch-all term to refer to a wide range of behaviors and opinions associated with its political enemies. In a Dec. 4 memo to federal law enforcement, Attorney General Pam Bondi cited “extreme views on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment” as motivating potential domestic terrorists.

It is a vision that prioritizes ideology. With Cole, the DOJ struck a different chord. The coming scare, prosecutors said, was not linked to political violence; rather, it was about “once again resorting to violence to express frustration with the world around him.”