Trump DOJ slams pardon door on man accused of planting bombs near Capitol a day before Jan. 6
Source: Law & Crime
Apr 12th, 2026, 6:44 pm Updated Apr 12th, 2026, 10:24 pm
A Virginia man who allegedly confessed to planting pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., just one day before the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack believes he should be covered by President Donald Trump's Jan. 6 pardon proclamation — a claim the DOJ slams as "unavailing" and devoid of common sense.
"Even if the court somehow found, notwithstanding its text, that the proclamation could apply to this case, the Department of Justice's contrary position is supported by a consistent, reasonable interpretation taken by the Executive Branch agency expressly charged with administering the proclamation," the DOJ blasts in a Friday memorandum filed in opposition of a March motion from pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr., who wants to dismiss his case under the terms of Trump's January 2025 pardon proclamation.
Cole's legal team argues that the charges against him are "inextricably and demonstrably tethered" to the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and should be dismissed. Federal prosecutors lay out multiple reasons in their opposition filing for why they say Cole's lawyers are wrong, including the wording of Trump's proclamation — which states that the Jan. 6 pardons only apply to "offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021" — and Cole's own alleged confession.
"Under its plain terms, the proclamation applied only to those convicted or under a pending indictment for the offenses described," the DOJ says. "While the events of January 6 provide some relevant factual context to this prosecution, the defendant's crimes on January 5 were not 'related to' the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6 under the terms of the proclamation."
Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/trump-doj-slams-pardon-door-on-man-accused-of-planting-bombs-near-capitol-a-day-before-jan-6-after-suspect-claims-he-should-be-covered/
Full headline: Trump DOJ slams pardon door on man accused of planting bombs near Capitol a day before Jan. 6 after suspect claims he should be covered
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