2026

By Jana Winter

WASHINGTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday ordered that the man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington the night before the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack should remain behind bars while his case moves forward.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered Brian Cole, 30, to be held without bail as he faces two criminal charges related to the attempted bombings at the Democratic and Republican party headquarters. Cole, who faces two explosives-related charges, has not yet entered a plea. 

Sharbaugh also agreed to accept an indictment returned by a local grand jury in Washington, charging Cole with the same two offenses. The defense challenged the use of a local grand jury to secure a federal indictment, but the judge agreed to accept it after prosecutors said they would soon ask a federal grand jury to separately sign off on the charges.

Sharbaugh concluded in his ruling that the U.S. government’s evidence against Cole was strong and that the pipe bombs sparked fear and alarm ahead of the congressional certification of the election even though they did not explode.

“If the plan had succeeded, the results could have been devastating: creating a greater sense of terror on the eve of a high-security Congressional proceeding, causing serious property damage in the heart of Washington, D.C., grievously injuring DNC or RNC staff and other innocent bystanders, or worse,” Sharbaugh wrote.

A lawyer for Cole argued during a December 30 court hearing that he should be released on strict conditions, pointing to his lack of criminal history and family support.

The attorney said a defense expert was prepared to testify that the devices were not capable of detonating. The FBI has concluded the pipe bombs were viable. 

Federal prosecutors have said in a court filing that Cole confessed to planting the pipe bombs and told investigators after his arrest he thought the 2020 election had been “tampered with.” President Donald Trump had falsely claimed that the election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, was marred by fraud.

According to the filing, Cole said he didn’t like either political party.

The pipe bombs were not discovered until about 1 p.m. on January 6, diverting police resources just as a mob of Trump supporters surged into the Capitol.

(Reporting by Jana Winter. Additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio)

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(This Dec 31 story has been repeated without any changes to the text.)

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against U.S. President Donald Trump, said that the Republican had acknowledged to others that he lost the 2020 election against former President Joe Biden, according to a transcript of a testimony by Smith.

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released 255 pages of transcript from Smith’s testimony in mid-December, when he defended his investigation before the Republican-controlled panel.

His private testimony came following months of disclosures from Trump appointees at the Justice Department and Republican lawmakers intended to discredit Smith’s probe and bolster Trump’s claims that the cases were an abuse of the legal system.

Publicly, Trump falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election. His supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Congress from certifying the results of the election. After taking office for a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned the rioters.

In the testimony, Smith was asked if Trump ever acknowledged “that he knew that he had actually lost the election” to Biden, according to the transcript.

“Yes,” Smith replied. “So this paragraph references different statements that he made in the presence of other people. One is that, ‘It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You still fight like hell.’ And then the other was, ‘Can you believe I lost to this f’ing guy?’ referring to Joe Biden.”

The transcript showed Smith to be saying that he saw “these admissions as corroborative of the larger case.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of work hours on Smith’s testimony.

Smith and his team secured indictments in 2023, accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents following his first term in office and plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Smith has said his prosecutors followed Justice Department policy and were not influenced by politics. Trump and his allies have alleged political motivation.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Neil Fullick)

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