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A federal judge has refused to order the pretrial release of a man charged with placing two pipe bombs near the national headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties on the eve of a mob\u2019s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n WASHINGTON — <\/span>A federal judge has refused to order the pretrial release of a man charged with placing two pipe bombs near the national headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties on the eve of a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled on Thursday that Brian J. Cole Jr.<\/a> must remain in jail while awaiting trial. Ali upheld a decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh, who ruled on Jan. 2 that no conditions of release can reasonably protect the public from the danger that Cole allegedly poses.<\/p>\n Cole, 30, pleaded not guilty to making and planting two pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the night of Jan. 5, 2021.<\/p>\n Cole, who lived with his parents in Woodbridge, Virginia, has been diagnosed with autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. His attorneys say he has no criminal record.<\/p>\n Cole has remained jailed since his Dec. 4 arrest. Authorities said they used phone records and other evidence to identify him as a suspect in a crime that confounded the FBI for over four years.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said Cole confessed to trying to carry out \u201can extraordinary act of political violence.\u201d Cole investigators that he was unhappy with how leaders of both political parties responded to \u201cquestions\u201d about the 2020 presidential election \u2014 and said \u201csomething just snapped,\u201d according to prosecutors. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile the defendant may have reached a psychological breaking point, his crimes were anything but impulsive,\u201d they wrote<\/a>. “Indeed, the defendant\u2019s pipe bombs \u2014 and the fear and terror they instilled in the general public \u2014 were the product of weeks of premeditation and planning.”<\/p>\n Defense attorneys asked for Cole to be freed from jail and placed on home detention with electronic monitoring. They say a defense expert concluded<\/a> that the devices found near the RNC and DNC headquarters were not viable explosive devices.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, there was no possibility of death, injury or destruction as the devices were harmless,\u201d they wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n If convicted of both charges against him, Cole faces up to 10 years of imprisonment on one charge and up to 20 years of imprisonment on a second charge that also carries a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n