Trump's Call to Action: FBI Cracks 5-Year-Old Pipe Bomb Mystery in DC

FBI Director Kash Patel credits President Trump's 'get the bad guys' approach for helping investigators crack the nearly five-year-old pipe bomb mystery in Washington, D.C. The devices, planted outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee offices on January 5, 2021, were safely disarmed, but had the potential to be lethal. According to Patel, the Trump administration's FBI was able to solve the case without receiving any new leads, relying on traditional detective work. A $500,000 reward had been offered for information leading to the bomber, but the Biden administration was unable to identify a suspect during President Trump's previous term. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who spearheaded the investigation, credited Trump for enabling the bureau to push the case forward. In a press conference announcing the arrest, Bongino praised Trump's focus on law enforcement, saying 'This is what it's like when you work for a president who tells you to go get the bad guys and stop focusing on other extraneous things not related to law enforcement.' Brian Cole, the suspect, was taken into custody on Thursday morning in connection with the bombs planted outside the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters. FBI agents searched his family's cul-de-sac in Woodbridge, Virginia, gathering evidence and securing the area. The investigation took a fresh approach once Patel took office, with the bureau relaunching the case from the ground up after the previous leadership spent four years with no success. Patel said, 'Our team re-examined the case, built the evidentiary trail, and executed the search warrants that finally brought this individual into custody.' The case is a testament to the FBI's ability to deliver results when focused on the task at hand, Patel said. The FBI arrested and prosecuted hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters, but the identity of the person who placed the pipe bombs had remained unsolved for years.