US Capitol pipe bomb suspect says he believed Trump’s 2020 election lie

Brian Cole Jr makes first court appearance charged with planting two devices on 5 January 2021 in Washington

The man suspected of planting pipe bombs in Washington DC the night before the 6 January 2021 deadly attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump trying to overturn his election defeat made his first appearance in federal court on Friday.

Brian Cole Jr, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, appeared before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya Friday afternoon in Washington DC to face two explosives-related charges on the day after his arrest. Cole was accused of placing pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties not far from the US Capitol and the White House on the evening of 5 January 2021. Upadhyaya set a detention hearing for 15 December, with prosecutors expected to ask to detain Cole before trial.