WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Justice Department on Friday filed court papers opposing a motion by Brian Cole Jr. to dismiss federal charges that he planted pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021. Prosecutors argued in the filings that President Trump's Jan. 20, 2025, pardons for individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot do not cover Cole's offenses.

Cole was charged last year with interstate transportation of explosives and malicious attempt to use explosives, nearly five years after the bombs were planted on Jan. 5, 2021. The bombs did not detonate, though the FBI has said they were viable.

Cole's attorneys had filed a motion arguing that Trump's pardon of Jan. 6 rioters applies to their client despite the pipe bombs having been planted the night before the riot. His lawyers contended that the phrase "related to" in the pardon order could apply to offenses that did not take place on Jan. 6 if they were linked to events of that day. In March, Cole's lawyers cited federal prosecutors' filings stating that Cole told the FBI he had traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a 2020 election-related protest connected to the political controversy that animated the Jan. 6 crowd.

Prosecutors countered that Cole's Jan. 5 offenses were not related to events at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as required by the pardon proclamation. The department stated in its filings that on Jan. 20, 2025, law enforcement had not identified, charged, or convicted Cole, and that the pipe bombs investigation had proceeded without interruption. Prosecutors wrote that Cole was neither convicted of nor indicted for offenses related to the Jan. 6 events on the date of the pardon, so the proclamation did not apply to him. Prosecutors also wrote that their interpretation of the pardon proclamation is entitled to deference as a reasonable interpretation by the executive branch agency charged with administering it.

In an FBI interview, Cole told agents that he had planted the bombs and that he did not attend a protest at the Capitol on Jan. 5 but traveled to Washington to plant the devices, according to court filings.

Trump issued the pardons on Jan. 20, 2025, granting relief to around 1,500 individuals accused or convicted of offenses ranging from trespassing to assaulting police in connection with events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The presidential proclamation explicitly limited relief to individuals who had been convicted of or had pending indictments for offenses related to events at or near the Capitol on that date. The pardon removed criminal convictions for all but 14 of those convicted of Jan. 6-related offenses and directed the Justice Department to seek dismissal of charges against individuals whose cases were still pending.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali had not scheduled a hearing to consider Cole's motion as of Friday. A status hearing in the case is scheduled for April 21.