An alleged suspect in the DC pipe bomb case might be set free due to a surprising procedural blunder by federal prosecutors, according to a legal expert.

Since early December, Brian Cole Jr. has been in custody, facing accusations of planting pipe bombs near the headquarters of the two major political parties.

The 30-year-old from Virginia is charged with transporting explosive devices across state lines with the intent to kill.

However, attorneys now contend that the US Department of Justice did not properly follow federal rules to secure his detention, which could lead to his immediate release.

This unexpected development was brought to light by Roger Parloff, a senior editor at Lawfare.

Parloff pointed out a defense motion that argues the government failed to meet crucial deadlines to indict Cole through a federal grand jury or to obtain a judicial finding of probable cause at a public preliminary hearing.

‘Accused J6 pipebomber Brian Cole is claiming that he is entitled to release due to govt’s failure to obtain within the allotted time period either a proper grand jury indictment or a judge’s probable cause finding after a ‘preliminary hearing,’ Parloff wrote. ‘Odd situation.’

Under federal rules, a defendant cannot be held for more than 14 days without either a grand jury indictment or a judicial finding of probable cause – unless the defense consents or extraordinary circumstances exist.

Cole was arrested on December 4 and made his initial court appearance on December 5.

A man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the headquarters of both major political parties on the eve of January 6, 2021 could now walk free because of a procedural misstep

Brian Cole Jr, 30, has reportedly confessed to planting pipe bombs outside of the Democratic and Republican national committees on January 5, 2021 

He told federal investigators that he was relieved that his weapons did not detonate, claiming he did not want to kill anyone

A detention hearing was set for December 15, but Parloff noted that no preliminary hearing was mentioned, apparently because both sides assumed the government would indict before then, but that never happened. 

Instead, on December 10, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to delay both the detention hearing and indictment deadline until December 30. 

According to Parloff, Cole’s attorneys later asked whether the December 30 hearing would double as a preliminary hearing if no indictment had been secured.

On December 28, the government informed the defense that the December 30 hearing would not be a preliminary hearing while also acknowledging that no federal grand juries were sitting between December 16 and January 5.

Cole’s attorneys responded that they had not waived the deadline beyond December 30.

Then, on December 29, prosecutors obtained an indictment, not from a federal grand jury, but from a DC Superior Court grand jury.

Parloff said the DOJ had used the same approach in another case, involving Kevontae Stewart. But there is a crucial difference in that Stewart was free on bail while Cole is not.

‘In Cole’s case, it is [keeping him detained],’ Parloff wrote, noting that Magistrate Judge Sharbaugh ordered both sides to brief the issue by December 31 and promised a prompt ruling given the stakes.

Prosecutors said he took the same route as the bomber the night of January 5, 2021 

After confessing to planting the bombs, Cole allegedly told investigators how he built them

Cole’s arrest marks the first major breakthrough in the five-year investigation that had baffled the agency and sparked a wave of conspiracy theories

The potential release comes despite prosecutors having recently unveiled what they describe as a damning confession.

Cole, a bail bondsman whose neighbors described him as a recluse, was arrested nearly five years after two pipe bombs were discovered outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., hours before the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.

According to court filings, Cole admitted planting the devices but claimed he did not intend to kill anyone. 

He told investigators he acted out of frustration over how concerns about the 2020 election were dismissed.

‘I didn’t agree with what people were doing, like just telling half the country that they… just need to ignore it,’ Cole allegedly told agents. ‘I didn’t think that was a good idea, so I went to the protest.’

Cole said he was not openly political and avoided discussing his beliefs with family.

He told investigators that ‘no one knows’ his political leanings and that he never told his family he was attending a protest in support of then-President Donald Trump.

In his account, prosecutors wrote, Cole felt someone needed to ‘speak up’ when people believed their votes were being disregarded, adding that ‘people up top’ on both sides should not dismiss grievances by labeling critics as ‘Nazis’ or ‘fascists.’

Last month, Cole was charged with laying explosives outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters, which did not detonate

Federal authorities were seen searching the home Cole shared with his parents, but Cole reportedly told investigators he threw all of his bomb-making materials into a nearby dump

Eventually, he said, ‘something just snapped.’

At first, Cole denied placing the bombs, prosecutors said. But after agents showed him surveillance images of a hooded figure carrying a backpack along the bomber’s route, he paused, put his head down, and answered ‘yes.’

He later told investigators he was ‘pretty relieved’ when the bombs failed to detonate and claimed he planted them at night to avoid casualties. 

Prosecutors countered that it was only ‘luck, not lack of effort,’ that prevented deaths.

The pipe bombs sparked widespread panic on January 6, forcing evacuations and drawing law enforcement resources away from the Capitol as the riot unfolded. 

The investigation dragged on for years, fueling conspiracy theories and public criticism of the FBI.

Cole’s arrest marked the first major breakthrough after the bureau offered a $500,000 reward and released new surveillance footage. 

Cole’s arrest marked the first major breakthrough after the bureau offered a $500,000 reward and released new surveillance footage 

Authorities later said the arrest stemmed not from new tips, but from reanalyzed cellphone data previously believed to be corrupted.

Following the arrest, current FBI leadership, including Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, publicly questioned why the suspect had not been identified years earlier. 

Patel suggested the previous administration’s FBI was distracted by other political investigations.

Prosecutors argue Cole should remain jailed, warning that no conditions could reasonably ensure public safety. 

They described his actions as calculated, dangerous, and the product of weeks of planning, rather than impulse.