DC pipe bomb defendant pleads not guilty to federal charges

A Virginia man accused of planting two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot pleaded not guilty Friday to federal explosives charges.

Brian Cole Jr., 30, entered his plea during an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., responding “not guilty” when asked how he wished to proceed. The hearing marked Cole’s first appearance on the federal charges more than a month after his arrest, a delay prosecutors attributed to the holiday recess, when a grand jury was not in session.