Suspect in DC pipe bomb case was 'disappointed' after Trump lost 2020 election, prosecutor says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of planting a pair of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington on the eve of the U.S. Capitol attack told investigators he was “disappointed” in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election lost by President Donald Trump, the top federal prosecutor for the nation's capital said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told ABC News Live that she believes it is “unmistakable” that Brian Cole Jr. was responsible for placing the pipe bombs based on evidence collected by investigators. Pirro also suggested Cole may have been motivated by claims by Trump and his Republican allies that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“He was disappointed in various aspects of the election, but this guy was an equal opportunity bomber," Pirro said. "He was disappointed to a great deal in the system. Both sides of the system."

Cole confessed to planting the devices on Jan. 5, 2021, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Cole also indicated that he believed conspiracy theories around the 2020 election and expressed views supportive of Trump, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss by name an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cole spoke to law enforcement officers for more than four hours after his arrest, a federal prosecutor, Charles Jones, said Friday during Cole’s initial court appearance.

The details add to a still-emerging portrait of the 30-year-old suspect from Woodbridge, Virginia, and it was not immediately clear what other information or perspectives he may have shared while cooperating with law enforcement following his arrest Thursday.

Surveillance video captured the suspect’s movements through the area where the pipe bombs were placed and the surrounding neighborhood. The suspect, whose face was obscured by a mask, was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, gloves and Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes.

“He told us that he had those sneakers and that he got rid of them after he placed the pipe bombs,” Pirro said.

The FBI said a comparison of records from nearby cell towers and for Cole’s cellphone indicate he was near the RNC and DNC around the same time that the pipe bombs were placed there.

“In my mind, they were on the right path when it was clear that the cellphone was pinging in the exact locations where we had the video of the suspect walking along the area,” Pirro said. “Everywhere he walked, his cellphone was pinging at the cell tower. So it is unmistakable that he was the guy who was walking along and placing those items.”

Investigators also obtained credit card records that show Cole bought items consistent with components used to make the pipe bombs placed at the RNC and DNC, according to the FBI.

U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya ordered Cole to remain in jail after his first court appearance. He did not enter a plea and is due back in court Dec. 15 for a detention hearing.

Cole, wearing a tan-colored jail uniform, answered a few routine questions from the magistrate during Friday's brief hearing. Relatives of Cole attended the hearing and called out words of encouragement as he was led out of the courtroom.

“We love you!” one shouted.

“We’re here for you, baby,” another said.

Defense attorney John Shoreman declined to comment on the charges after the hearing.

“We’re in the very, very early stages,” he said.

Nobody was hurt before the bombs were rendered safe, but the FBI has said both devices could have been lethal.

The arrest marks the first time investigators have publicly identified a suspect in an act that has been an enduring mystery for nearly five years in the shadow of the violent Capitol attack. For years, the FBI struggled to pinpoint a suspect despite hundreds of tips, a review of tens of thousands of video files and a significant number of interviews.

Trump lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden but promoted conspiracy theories that Democrats stole the election from him. A mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House.

This courtroom sketch depicts Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Va., the man accused of planting a pair of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties on Jan. 5, 2021, in Washington, being sworn in, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 before U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya, at Federal Court in Washington, as U.S. Attorney Charles Jones, seated left, and Defense Attorney John Shoreman, seated center, look on. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, and FBI Director Kash Patel stand during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A FBI explosive ordnance agent talks with a Prince William County Police officers as agents investigate a house where the FBI made an arrest in Woodbridge, Va., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

An FBI truck departs the street where the FBI made an arrest and are investigating a house in Woodbridge, Va., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Pentagon has told Congress the first week of the Iran war cost $11.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The Pentagon provided the estimate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

The military reported spending $5 billion on munitions alone over the first weekend of the war.

The Trump administration had previously indicated it would be sending Congress a request for supplemental funding for the war, but that idea appears to have cooled for now.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that he was not expecting the supplemental request this month.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired on commercial ships Wednesday and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of bottling up the oil-rich Persian Gulf as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic.

Iran's response to the surprise Israeli and U.S. bombardment that started 12 days ago has upended trade routes, choked supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatened air traffic through one of the world's most-traveled regions. Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other.

An Israeli intelligence assessment, meanwhile, found Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was wounded at the start of the war — on the day when his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

An Israeli intelligence official and a reservist with knowledge of the assessment spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. They gave no details on the nature of the injuries.

The 56-year-old, whose wife was also killed in the Israeli strike, has not been seen since becoming supreme leader on Monday. Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote on social media that he had heard Mojtaba was wounded but that friends said “he is healthy and there is no problem.”

In Tehran late Wednesday, witnesses said they heard loud airstrikes, explosions and heavy fire by anti-aircraft batteries. They could also hear the buzzing of drones overhead. A person driving to Tehran described overcast skies as smoke from bomb and missile blasts mingled in the air that smelled of burnt powder and gasoline. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The fallout across the Middle East widened as Israel struck what it said were targets connected to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, while more than 92,000 others have crossed into neighboring Syria.

Elsewhere, two Iranian drones hit near the Dubai airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates and the world’s busiest for international travel. Four people were wounded but flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said.

At Oman’s Port of Salalah, firefighters battled a blaze Wednesday at fuel storage tanks after days of Iranian attacks, according to the Oman News Agency.

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors.

“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy, security, and security of global trade," said Bahrain’s U.N. ambassador, Jamal Alrowaiei.

The 13-0 vote in the U.N.’s most powerful body reflects Iran's isolated position as it has aggressively responded to Israeli and U.S. strikes. China and Russia — two Iranian allies — abstained from the vote.

Their U.N. ambassadors called the proposal “extremely unbalanced” in not mentioning the strikes against Tehran that began the war.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said it might leave the impression that Iran, “on its own volition and out of malice, conducted an unprovoked attack on Arab states.” Iranian U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the resolution “deliberately ignores the root causes of the current crisis.”

Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes. It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations, aiming at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes.

At least 12 incidents involving vessels around the strait have been confirmed since fighting began, according to two global trackers, and at least seven mariners have been killed.

A projectile hit a Thai cargo ship off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze. Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy, according to Thailand’s Marine Department.

The United States has pledged to keep the strait open and has led intense airstrikes targeting Iran's navy and the port city of Bandar Abbas. The U.S. military said Tuesday it destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers near the strait.

Some tankers, believed linked to Iran, continue to get through the strait, making so-called “dark” transits — meaning they aren’t turning on trackers that show where they are. Vessels carrying sanctioned Iranian crude often turn off their trackers.

The commodity-tracking firm Kpler said Iran has restarted crude exports through its Jask oil terminal on the Gulf of Oman. A tanker loaded roughly 2 million barrels at Jask on March 7, it said.

Oil prices remained well below Monday’s peaks but the price of Brent crude, the international standard, was still up some 20% Wednesday from when the war began. Consumers around the world are already feeling the pain at the pump.

The International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the war’s impact on energy markets.

The Paris-based organization said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its member countries’ emergency reserves, more than twice the amount they released four years ago in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

That could replace supplies currently off the market for roughly three weeks, said Bruce Bullock, director of Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University.

While visiting Ohio on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told Cincinnati television station WKRC that he will tap the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to curtail rising gas prices. He didn’t specify how many barrels of oil the U.S. would release.

Simultaneous blasts rocked Beirut's southern suburbs Wednesday night, producing large fires and plumes of smoke.

The Israeli military said it was responding to dozens of Hezbollah rockets fired simultaneously across northern Israel. One rocket hit a house near the Israeli town of Karmiel, lightly injuring two people, according to Israeli rescue services.

At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.

Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

This story has been corrected to fix a misspelling of the first name of Bahrain's U.N. ambassador.

Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy and Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sally Abou AIJoud in Beirut, Farnoush Amiri and Edith M. Lederer in New York, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this story.

A man, left, carries the body of his son, Kassem Younis, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in the southern village of Chehabiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Flames rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Children and adults play on swings on the beach as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A man holds a picture of late Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh beside his coffin as mourners attend the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A mourner holds a poster depicting Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, as supreme leader, during the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from a building following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Mourners attend the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and some civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji, File)

Rescue workers gather at the site where Israeli airstrikes hit apartments in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People take shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strike, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man passes in front of a destroyed building that housed a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a non-bank financial institution run by Hezbollah, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People walk past closed shops at the nearly empty traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Motorbikes drive past a billboard depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, handing the country’s flag to his son and successor Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, as the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stands at left, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)