What to know about the Jan. 6 pipe bomb case riddled in conspiracy theories

Intrigue and conspiracy theories have long-surrounded the case of the suspect who planted pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committees on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

With the case going unsolved for nearly five years, it invited a plethora of false accusations that have muddied the realities of the failed attack on lawmakers — including blaming the incident on a former police officer or claiming it was an inside job by the FBI.

Officials are hoping to finally put that behind them and uncover the full truth after suspect Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Va., was arrested on Thursday morning.

While a motive is not yet known, sources told The Post investigators were examining the suspect’s background for possible “anarchist leanings.”

The case serves as a particularly embarrassing chapter for the FBI, which was slammed by lawmakers earlier this year for the lack of progress in identifying a perpetrator.

Theory that failed bombing was an inside job

The absence of a break in the case and the fact that the bombs never detonated led many to believe that the incident was all part of a secret operation launched by the FBI.

The conspiracy theory was even promoted by current FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who before joining the bureau, suggested on his podcast that the act was an “inside job” and involved a “massive cover-up.”  

“Folks, I’m telling you what happened. There is a massive cover-up, because the person who planted those pipe bombs — they don’t want you to know who it was, because it’s either a connected anti-Trump insider or this was an inside job,” Bongino said last year.

“Those bombs were planted there. This was a setup. I have zero doubt,” he added.

Debunked theories had previously linked a Capitol Police officer

Last month, an unverified report from the conservative outlet The Blaze attempted to link a former Capitol Police officer to the crime following an alleged leaked memo draft from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The FBI, however, quickly poured cold water on the claims, slamming the story as “grossly inaccurate and serves only to mislead the public.”

The accused woman, who now works at a different government law enforcement agency, cleared her name by providing video of her playing with her puppies at the time the bombs were planted in DC, CBS news reported.

Frustrated lawmakers demanded progress

Congress had ripped law enforcement for their failure to make any significant progress in the case over the course of four years.

Reps. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said in a report released in January that “little meaningful progress” had been made in the pipe bomb investigation and charged that the feds had “refused to provide substantive updates to Congress.”

Despite “a promising array of data and… numerous persons of interest,” the lawmakers’ report said, “[b]y the end of February 2021, the FBI began diverting resources away from the pipe bomb investigation.”

After arriving at the bureau in March, Bongino made the case a top priority, writing on X last month that a wave of new resources had been brought in to speed up the investigation.

No new tips led to suspect’s arrest

Despite offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect behind the pipe bomb incident, the FBI did not use any tips from the public to solve the case.

Instead, the agency re-examined all the evidence that had already been collected, FBI Director Kash Patel told The Post.

“The FBI examined every piece of information available, leveraged new technology, brought in experts from around the country, and methodically developed the evidence needed to nail this suspect,” Patel told The Post. “This breakthrough didn’t come from new tips, it came from relentless FBI work.”

Among the evidence that was probed was the suspect’s shoes, said to be Nike Air Max Speed Turfs.

Thousands of pairs had been sold at more than two dozen retailers, allowing the FBI to search credit card records to narrow the list of buyers.