An unclassified document from federal investigators shows forensic findings and analysis of a pair of pipe bombs planted blocks from each other outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington, D.C., and discovered by authorities on Jan. 6., the day of the U.S. Capitol riot.
The “Quick Look Report” by the National Explosives Task Force, obtained by CBS News, offers the most in-depth look at the internal components of the explosive devices that authorities believe were planted the night before the attack on Congress by a suspect who, to this day, eludes capture. The FBI is offering $100,000 in reward money for information leading to the location, arrest, and conviction of anyone involved in the placing of the bombs, which were safely detonated at the scene by robots, according to CNN.
Within the task force report, dated Tuesday, investigators wrote the pipe bombs contained “a powdery substance consistent with the oxidizer potassium nitrate, the fuel sulfur, and a fuel consistent with charcoal,” which they described as a “low explosive black powder.”
The piping itself was approximately 8 inches long, with an inner diameter of about 1 inch. Investigators said the “electronically activated fuzing system” of both explosives “consisted of a power source, conductors, switches, and a load.” One of the devices used a 9-volt battery with approximately 8.10 volts as its power source.
DISCOVERY OF RNC PIPE BOMB, NOT CAPITOL TRESPASSERS, PROMPTED CONGRESSIONAL EVACUATIONS
“Both devices’ conductors consisted of three lengths of red insulated multi-strand wires, one length of black insulated multi-strand wire, a 9-volt snap connector, two paper clips, and six alligator clips,” investigators determined.
The switches for both pipe bombs consisted of generic kitchen timers, a point that, according to Catherine Herridge, a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News, shows there isn’t any evidence that the pipe bombs had secondary methods of detonation.
“So for example, a cellphone, that would allow someone to detonate the device let’s say the following morning on Jan. 6,” she said on-air before referring to a former investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives who said that “all of that suggests, because there was a 60-minute kitchen timer … that if they had been set they were designed to go off on Jan. 5.”
“It creates more questions as to if and how it was connected to the breach,” the reporter said.
NEW: @CBSNews obtains National Explosives Task Force “Quick Look Report” on forensic analysis of two viable pipe bombs found outside the Republican National Committee + Democratic National Committee HQ on evening Jan 5. Report says NO evidence cell phone or other electronic timer pic.twitter.com/olz3t9mZgL
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) March 4, 2021
The Washington Examiner reached out to the ATF for comment about the report but was directed to the FBI, which did not immediately respond.
READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The FBI released pictures in January showing a person it believes might have been involved with planting the bombs. The photos show an individual wearing a backpack and hoodie.
Last month, former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund revealed to the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the Jan. 6 evacuation of two congressional buildings was not prompted by the assault on the Capitol complex but rather because of the discovery of the two pipe bombs.
