Attorneys for Brian Cole Jr., the man charged with planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters the night before Jan. 6, 2021, have asked a federal court to throw out his purported confession, arguing it was coerced by FBI agents during a lengthy interrogation.
In a motion filed Tuesday, Cole’s defense team pointed to video of the interview, which they characterized as the “methodical dismantling of a man whose autism spectrum disorder” left him vulnerable to pressure tactics. The filing included an opinion from psychologist Dr. Richard A. Leo, described as a consultant on roughly 2,500 disputed-confession cases, who concluded that “the interrogation was psychologically coercive.”
A transcript attached to the motion covers Cole’s Dec. 4 interview with agents. According to the transcript, Cole denied involvement for roughly three hours before confessing, after agents told him his denials were themselves illegal and threatened to “drag” his family into similar interviews. When an interrogator asked, “So, this individual is you?” Cole answered, “Yes.” Agents then left the room before returning, at which point Cole said he wanted to keep talking and offered additional details.
Later in the interview, according to the transcript, Cole said: “I don’t know how many times I wanted to turn myself in … So, so many times … I’d just be scared.”
The Justice Department had not responded to the motion as of publication. Cole’s attorneys have asked for a hearing before any ruling on the confession’s admissibility.
Defense Also Targets Alternate Suspect
Separately, Cole’s legal team is pushing to obtain FBI evidence connected to Shauni Kerkhoff, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer now working as a CIA security guard, whom the defense suggests could be the actual culprit.
The defense has requested subpoenas for the original video of Kerkhoff’s dog from the night of Jan. 5, 2021 — reportedly filmed while the real bomber was in Washington, which could serve as an alibi for her — along with communications between Kerkhoff and her boyfriend, Capitol Police officer Daniel Dickert, and records from the FBI’s gait analysis.
The Justice Department opposes issuing the subpoenas, arguing the defense has not produced evidence tying Kerkhoff to the bombs. “The FBI investigated this claim, as it did many others, and found it to be baseless,” the department said, describing the request as a “fishing expedition.” It remains unclear when a judge will rule on the matter.
Unanswered Questions Persist
Reporting has previously established that the FBI had identified a suspect by Jan. 10, 2021, but made no arrests at that time. FBI records released in September showed that agents did not interview Karlin Younger — the former counterterrorism analyst and then-Commerce Department employee who reported finding a device near the RNC around 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 6 — until several days afterward.
Timeline records also show that then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s motorcade left the Capitol at 11:21 a.m. and arrived at the DNC at 11:25 a.m., while the device near that location was not discovered until 1:07 p.m., when a plainclothes Capitol Police officer found it.
The unresolved timeline and lack of an arrest for years after the incident have fueled speculation among some that the episode could have involved federal oversight or a false-flag operation. That remains an allegation rather than an established fact, and no evidence presented in the current proceedings has confirmed it.
1 Comment
My contention is that every swinging soul on that faux Jan6 committee should be prosecuted for, at a minimum, malfeasance/misfeasance in office. What a contrived, corrupt, manufactured, finding! As John Stossel would say, “GIVE ME A BREAK.”