Jan. 6 pipe devices were not bombs, could not have exploded, defense expert contends

The alleged pipe bombs placed at two sites on Capitol Hill on Jan. 5, 2021, were not capable of exploding and thus were not bombs at all, an explosives expert said in a new federal criminal case filing.

The devices, found along the rear of the Capitol Hill Club and under a bench at the Democratic National Committee building on Jan. 6, lacked the needed chemicals and proper fusing system that would have made them explosives, according to Brennan Phillips, a 20-year veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

‘The two suspected pipe bombs in question do not contain an explosive filler capable of causing an explosion.’

In a report created for pipe-bomb suspect Brian J. Cole Jr.’s defense team, Phillips rejected the FBI’s five-year-long insistence that the devices were “viable” and could have exploded.

“Based on my review of the materials provided, the two suspected pipe bombs in question do not contain an explosive filler capable of causing an explosion,” Phillips wrote.

The report, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., late on Friday, is just the latest complication for the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI in the prosecution of Cole, 30, a suburban Virginia man arrested Dec. 4 and charged a day later with two felony explosives counts.

The defense filed the explosives expert’s report along with a motion to revoke the detention order keeping Cole locked up in the Rappahannock Regional Jail pending trial.

A U.S. Capitol Police bomb robot heads for the alley behind the Capitol Hill Club to render safe a pipe bomb discovered about 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

At virtually the same time on Jan. 16, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued an order rejecting Cole’s emergency petition to reconsider the detention decision made by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh.

Phillips said the chemicals used in the devices were not properly constituted and thus incapable of sparking an explosion.

“These chemicals need to be apportioned into a workable fuel-to-oxidizer ratio: 75% potassium nitrate (also known as saltpeter) 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur is the most widely cited Black Powder ratio," he wrote.

Above: the Capitol Hill pipe bombs before they were processed by a bomb robot. Below: One of the devices reconstructed by the FBI.FBI images

“The photos of the lab samples taken from the powders recovered from the two pipes show mostly large white particles with some flecks of dark material,” Phillips wrote, “which is not visually consistent with Back Powder but is consistent with inadequate mixing in a bowl.”

The FBI cited purchases of various items the bureau claims Cole made between 2018 and 2022, including sulfur dust and potassium nitrate. No public FBI records cite the purchase of any charcoal. These sourced ingredients can pose a purity problem for use in black powder. Inert ingredients used in the products Cole allegedly purchased tend to blunt their effectiveness as components to make black powder, according to an independent investigator known online as Armitas, who has worked with Blaze News on the pipe bomb investigation.

Like tiny lumps of coal

“Quality black powder, whether commercial or made by a knowledgeable hobbyist in a home setting, is granular and resembles tiny lumps of coal (Thurman, 2010),” Phillips wrote. “This granular black powder, made from 75% potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur, is the result of a multi-step process that involves grinding, milling, pressing, and corning to achieve a high-quality product.”

The process described by Phillips would be something that requires, at minimum, some level of hobbyist experience.

“In the home environment, this is typically achieved by first purchasing or creating finely ground precursor chemicals. For example, a hobbyist might use a coffee grinder to grind lump charcoal into a fine powder,” Phillips said. “Once the finely ground powders of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur are acquired, they need to be combined into a homogeneous mixture. A common starting point is to mix the materials using progressively finer mesh screens.”

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' motorcade drives directly past a pipe bomb as it moves to evacuate Harris from the front of the DNC building on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

The “early-stage” powders that result from an “incorporation” process “are typically low-strength and require pressing to achieve the performance required for Black Powder firearms, or bomb making,” Phillips wrote.

In addition to the problems with the fuel, Phillips said the Capitol Hill devices lacked an appropriate fusing system.

“Beyond the lack of a viable explosive filler for the two pipes, neither device has a functional fuzing and firing system capable of igniting a flame-sensitive explosive filler,” he wrote. “Based on my experience and testing, a single 9-volt battery attached to a 1.5-inch square of steel wool will not generate enough heat to ignite Black Powder.”

Constant controversy

There has been controversy surrounding the devices since their discovery between 12:40 p.m. and 1:05 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. A prime example was the deviation from standard protocol by police and U.S. Secret Service agents when the device was found under a bush at the base of a park bench at the DNC building.

The standard response to discovery of a suspected pipe bomb would be the immediate establishment of a blast perimeter and the evacuation of everyone in nearby buildings. Roads would be closed at the blast perimeter, and no one would be allowed to drive or walk inside.

A Capitol Police counter-surveillance special agent who found the DNC device at 1:05 p.m. walked to a nearby Secret Service sport utility vehicle to notify agents of his discovery. Instead of an urgent reaction, the agents sat in their vehicles for more than two minutes, finishing their lunch.

According to federal law-enforcement standards, the preferred evacuation distance from a pipe bomb is more than 1,200 feet.FBI

Even after emerging from the vehicles parked in the DNC driveway, the agents acted nonchalantly, standing just feet from the device. A uniformed Capitol Police officer walked up to the park bench and took a photograph of the device.

Pedestrians were allowed to traverse the sidewalk along South Capitol Street, walking mere feet from the suspected bomb. Vehicle traffic continued unabated on Capitol, Canal, and Ivy streets, as well as Washington Avenue.

Commuter trains continued to rumble over the railroad trestle behind the DNC building for 20 minutes after the device was discovered.

Inside the DNC, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris wasn’t evacuated for 10 minutes. Her motorcade pulled out of the underground garage and drove right past the bomb before circling the south end of the building and picking her up at the Ivy Street entrance.

Despite the ostensible threat to Harris’ life, Democrats never claimed the pipe bomb was an attempted assassination. For more than five years since, Harris has neither commented on her close call with disaster, nor explained why she was at the DNC building instead of the Capitol, where as a U.S. senator, her vote was needed to certify the 2020 presidential election.

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