Judge punts detention ruling for Jan. 6 bomb suspect after confession
Source: Courthouse News Service
December 30, 2025
WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge Tuesday declined to decide whether the Virginia man suspected of placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021, should be held in detention before trial as he weighs the defense’s request he be released under strict conditions. U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh heard arguments from Brian Cole Jr.’s defense attorney that the government failed to show Cole posed a danger to his community and could not be adequately monitored at his grandmother’s home. He indicated he would rule within the next day or two.
Mario Williams of HDR Law Firm, representing Cole Jr., argued that his client should be released because he lacked a prior criminal record, last purchased explosive materials in August 2022 that have gone untouched since, and has not shown any likelihood he would pose a danger to his community if released.
Williams highlighted the fact that the vast majority of Jan. 6 defendants were released on pretrial detention — outside of the most violent offenders and members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys — as the government could not show that strict release conditions were inadequate. Williams suggested that Cole could be released to his grandmother, Loretta Cole Donnette, who would serve as a third-party custodian while Cole is under house arrest, along with GPS monitoring, weekly reporting and unannounced visits by pre-trial services.
Donnette, who attended Tuesday’s hearing with Cole’s mother, took the bench to assure Sharbaugh that Cole would remain under her and her husband’s watchful eye, and if Cole violated any terms of his release conditions, she would immediately report it to the court. Sharbaugh described the role as the court’s “eyes and ears” and said he doubted he could report his own child if he were in the same position.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/judge-punts-detention-ruling-for-jan-6-bomb-suspect-after-confession/
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143589920
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