Alleged D.C. Pipe Bomber Sued Trump DHS Over Illegal Immigration, Sought Biden DOJ Help on Racism Claim
Brian Cole Jr., the man now accused of planting pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC headquarters on January 6, 2021, previously worked for a bail bond company that sued the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security over immigration issues and later asked the Biden Justice Department to investigate alleged racial discrimination by a Tennessee prosecutor.
Cole Jr., 30, worked for a bail bond company run by his father, Brian Cole Sr., which specialized in securing the release of illegal immigrants from ICE custody. According to an FBI affidavit, Cole Jr. lived with his mother and was employed by the company at the time of the alleged offenses.
Weeks before Cole Jr. allegedly planted the pipe bombs, the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. ruled against the company in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices. Court records show the company complained that DHS policies made them financially liable when illegal immigrants missed court dates due to lack of proper scheduling notifications.
In 2021, after the bomb incident, the company held a press event with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, accusing Rutherford County Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman of racial bias after Zimmerman raised concerns about the company’s ethics. Local reporting at the time documented Cole Sr. alleging racial targeting and calling on the Biden DOJ to intervene.
A Tennessee appeals court later upheld sanctions against the company, citing repeated misconduct and finding that Cole Sr. had lied about prior bankruptcies and tax issues.
The Coles operated under several business names, including StateWide Bonding, Inc. Immigration Bonds, which advertises services for illegal immigrants seeking release from ICE facilities. Public records tie both father and son to bond disputes involving illegal immigrants in multiple states, including Colorado.
StateWide Bonding had sued the Trump DHS claiming financial harm from immigration cases where clients failed to appear in court. The company argued that DHS failed to properly notify immigrants of court dates, causing them to miss proceedings and forcing the company to pay large penalties. The appeals court ultimately dismissed all claims in November 2020.
Charging documents in the pipe bomb case say Cole Jr. began purchasing bomb-making materials as early as 2019. Investigators say his phone placed him near both party headquarters when the bombs were planted. The devices did not explode but were described as potentially deadly.
Democrats frequently cited the pipe bombs as evidence of political violence linked to January 6, though the FBI under the Biden administration reported little progress for years and Vice President Kamala Harris, who was at the DNC building that day, rarely discussed the incident publicly.
The Biden DOJ used similar cell-phone-based investigative methods to rapidly identify and charge hundreds of Trump supporters for unrelated offenses tied to January 6.