A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump's mass pardons for supporters involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot do not extend to a Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican party headquarters.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali stated that the pardons were specifically for individuals convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack. Brian J. Cole Jr. had not been charged at the time Trump issued the pardons, Ali noted in his ruling.
Trump, on his first day of his second term, pardoned, commuted sentences, or ordered dismissals for over 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Cole was arrested almost a year after these clemency actions.
Prosecutors allege Cole placed two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the riot. The devices did not detonate before being discovered by law enforcement on Jan. 6. Cole reportedly confessed to investigators, stating he felt bewildered by election conspiracy theories and that "something just snapped."
Judge Ali was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden. Cole is scheduled for a status hearing on Wednesday, with no trial date yet set.