By CNN anchor Jake Tapper incorrectly identified the suspect charged in connection with the pipe bombs placed outside the Democratic and Republican national committee headquarters on January 6, 2021, as a “white man” during a live segment Thursday, explained The New York Post. The misstatement came moments after federal authorities announced the long-awaited arrest of Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old Virginia resident accused of transporting explosive devices across state lines and damaging public property.
Jake Tapper identified the J6 pipe bomb suspect as a “30-Year-old white man.”
Idk about you but this guy does not look white to me. pic.twitter.com/Pcexq2OGlm
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 5, 2025
Cole was taken into custody early Thursday morning following what the Justice Department described as a nearly five-year investigation into the viable devices discovered the day before the Capitol riot. According to the charging documents, the explosives were planted near the party headquarters on January 5, 2021, prompting a sprawling search for the perpetrator that stretched across multiple states and drew the attention of national counterterrorism teams.
During a broadcast of “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” the CNN anchor summarized the new indictment and mistakenly referred to Cole’s race. “Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old white man from the D.C. suburbs, is charged with transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce and with malicious destruction,” Tapper said. No additional clarification or correction was made during the segment.
The arrest marked the first major public development in a case long considered one of the more baffling unresolved chapters of January 6. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that FBI agents executed a search warrant at a Woodbridge, Virginia, residence tied to Cole as part of Thursday’s operation. Speaking to reporters, Bondi said the breakthrough was not the product of new forensic material, but rather renewed investigative pressure from the current administration. “This cold case languished for four years until [Director Kash Patel] and [Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino] came to the FBI,” Bondi said, crediting the investigative shift for reviving the dormant file.
Bondi also stressed that additional federal charges could be forthcoming as prosecutors evaluate digital, logistical, and financial records assembled over the course of the renewed inquiry. She indicated that the pipe bomb devices were functional and capable of inflicting substantial harm, though they never detonated.
Really out of character for Tapper. He is usually so honest.https://t.co/vChFruH4US
— Legal Phil (@Legal_Fil) December 5, 2025
The bombs were discovered on the morning of January 6, hours before thousands of demonstrators converged on the Capitol during the joint session of Congress to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. The early discovery prompted a rapid security response and temporary evacuations of nearby buildings, even as tensions escalated on the Capitol grounds. The investigation later revealed that some of the protesters entering the complex were acting as FBI informants, adding a layer of controversy to the government’s internal operational footprint that day.
For years, the FBI circulated surveillance footage of the suspect, publicized a reward exceeding $500,000, interviewed more than 1,000 individuals, and analyzed hundreds of public tips. Despite the scale of the effort, no arrest materialized until Thursday, fueling speculation about internal investigative delays, analytical hurdles, and the absence of usable physical evidence.
Federal officials are expected to release further charging details and procedural updates in the coming days. Prosecutors emphasized that the interstate component of the case — involving the alleged transport of explosive devices into the District of Columbia — remains central to the legal theory now being prepared for trial to bring the alleged bomber to justice.
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