Judge rules Trump pardons do not cover alleged D.C. pipe bomber
A federal judge rejected a motion to dismiss charges against Brian Cole Jr., stating that President Trump's Jan. 6 pardons were limited to individuals convicted of offenses related to the Capitol attack.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali denied a request by attorneys for Brian Cole Jr. to have his criminal case dismissed, concluding that former President Donald Trump's pardons for Jan. 6 rioters were "expressly limited" to those who had already been convicted of offenses tied to the Capitol breach.
Cole's lawyers argued that his alleged planting of pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5 was closely linked to the political unrest surrounding the Jan. 6 protest, citing statements that he had traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend a 2020 election-related demonstration. They contended that the pardon should therefore apply to him.
The Justice Department countered that the pardon specifically excludes conduct like Cole's, a position the judge affirmed.
"Even assuming that the conduct Cole is charged with is 'related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,' the pardon is expressly limited to people who had been 'convicted of offenses' related to those events," Ali wrote.
Cole was indicted last year on charges of interstate transportation of explosives and malicious use of explosives, and later faced additional terrorism and weapons-of-mass-destruction counts. He has pleaded not guilty.