Overview
- Prosecutors filed their opposition Friday, arguing Brian Cole Jr.’s bid to dismiss the case fails because the proclamation only covered people convicted or already indicted by January 20, 2025.
- The government says the alleged placement of pipe bombs on January 5, 2021 was not related to events at or near the Capitol on January 6, which the proclamation required.
- Even if the proclamation could reach this case, prosecutors say the Justice Department’s reading deserves deference because it administers the clemency order.
- Cole was arrested in December 2025 and indicted in January 2026 on charges tied to two devices outside the RNC and DNC that the FBI says were viable but did not explode.
- The judge has not ruled, and the decision could clarify whether uncharged or later-identified suspects can invoke the Jan. 6 clemency and how courts treat executive interpretations of such proclamations.