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Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference on an arrest of a suspect in the January 6 pipe bomb case.<\/span>Andrew Harnik\/Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The man who<\/span> allegedly planted two pipe bombs in Washington, DC, the night before the January 6 Capitol riot told investigators after his arrest earlier this month that someone needed to \u201cspeak up\u201d for people who believed that the 2020 election was stolen, according to a court filing on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors said<\/a> that the defendant, Brian Cole, felt \u201cextreme acts of violence\u201d were necessary as Cole told them he placed the bombs near the RNC and DNC headquarters because \u201cthey were in charge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The bombs were not discovered until the afternoon of January 6 and did not detonate. Following his arrest<\/a> this December, Cole initially denied making or planting the bombs but later confessed to transporting and planting two improvised explosive devices when presented with evidence of himself on surveillance video. In the filing, the Justice Department requested that Cole be detained until his trial, as his offense is listed as a federal terrorism crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cole told investigators that although he \u201chas never really been an openly political person,\u201d he felt \u201clike something was wrong\u201d in the 2020 election and began following discussions on YouTube and Reddit. He said that \u201cthe people up top,\u201d including \u201cpeople on both sides, public figures,\u201d should not \u201cignore people\u2019s grievances\u201d or call them \u201cconspiracy theorists,\u201d \u201cbad people,\u201d \u201cNazis,\u201d or \u201cfascists.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf people feel that their votes are like just being thrown away, then\u2026at the very least someone should address it,\u201d Cole was quoted as telling investigators.\u00a0<\/p>\n These events came as Trump repeatedly<\/a> lied<\/a> about winning the presidential election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cole denied that his actions were \u201cdirected toward Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled to take place on January 6.\u201d\u00a0The election was being certified that day when rioters stormed the Capitol building, halting the count of Electoral College ballots. <\/p>\n According to the court filing, Cole bought many items needed to construct the bombs between 2018 and 2020. He told investigators that the idea to use pipe bombs came from his interest in the Troubles, a three-decade conflict in Northern Ireland beginning in the 1960s over whether it would remain within the United Kingdom or unite with Ireland as a single state. Bombings of public places, including detonating pipe bombs, were common. <\/p>\n Cole drove about 25 miles to Washington from his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, on January 5, 2021, with the bombs. He said that he planted them at night because he did not want to kill or seriously injure people and was \u201cpretty relieved\u201d that they did not detonate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, it was luck, not lack of effort, that the defendant failed to detonate one or both of his devices and that no one was killed or maimed due to his actions,\u201d Assistant US Attorney Charles Jones wrote in the filing. \u201cHis failure to accomplish his objectives does not mitigate the profoundly dangerous nature of his crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones highlighted that \u201cthe Vice President-elect and Speaker of the House,\u201d as well as law enforcement, first responders, and political leaders, drove by the pipe bombs before they were discovered.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n