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Report: Suspect Detained After Ramming Car Through White House Gate

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Secret Service agents are investigating a suspicious vehicle near the White House on Wednesday and detained the driver for questioning.

Fox News reported that a driver has been detained after crashing a van through a barricade near the White House on Wednesday morning.

Officers were dispatched to assist Secret Service agents at around 6:37 a.m. on Wednesday after a van drove through a security barricade near the presidential residence, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Report: House Task Force Releases Scathing Assassination Disclosure

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Americans still want answers…

On Monday, the House Task Force investigating the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania released its initial findings.

Lack of adequate planning, a narrow field of vision for local snipers, the absence of a unified command post and fragmented communication were among the main findings in the 53-page report that examined how 20-year-old shooter Matthew Crooks was able to climb atop a building with a line of sight to Trump and fire at him. 

“Although the findings in this report are preliminary, the information obtained during the first phase of the Task Force’s investigation clearly shows a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally,” the report said.

U.S. Secret Service (USSS) personnel at the event “did not give clear guidance” to state and local authorities about how to manage security outside of their hard perimeter, nor was there a central meeting between USSS and the law enforcement agencies supporting them the morning of the rally – two findings presented as key failures in the 51-page report.

The House Task Force investigating the attempts on Trump’s life is expected to release its final report by Dec. 13.

Read the interim report in its entirety:

Crooks’s bullet came within inches of killing the former president and injured his ear. Shots also killed one rally attendee and seriously wounded two others. 

The latest report also detailed information about Crooks’ autopsy report and the chain of events that led to release of the remains to the Crooks’s family. The Butler County Coroner’s office released the remains after the FBI concurred that no additional evidence was necessary, the report said. 

The autopsy report found that Crooks died from one gunshot wound to the head, found negative results for alcohol or drugs of abuse, but was positive for antimony, selenium, and lead. Heightened levels of lead could have been due to time spent at the shooting range, the Allegheny County Chief Medical Examiner said.

The House force is made up of a bipartisan group of lawmakers and has also been assigned to investigate the September apparent assassination attempt on Trump in at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

“The Task Force will continue to rigorously investigate the July 13 assassination attempt in the coming months,” the report said, adding that it is “in the process of conducting more than 20 transcribed interviews of federal officials and others who may have knowledge relevant to the events of July 13.” 

This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

Suspect Arrested In Attempted Murder Plot Targeting OMB Director Russell Vought

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A Maryland man has been accused of attempting to murder Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, according to NewsNation.

Court records from Arlington General District Court show that Colin Demarco was arrested on Jan. 22 and arraigned the following day. Records indicate he faces multiple charges, including first-degree attempted murder, first-degree solicitation to commit murder, wearing a mask in certain places, and carrying a concealed firearm, a misdemeanor.

Demarco is accused of plotting to kill Vought, a law enforcement source briefed on the case told NewsNation.

Police say they were called to a Virginia residence on Aug. 10 after a witness reported that a man wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves appeared to be standing on Vought’s porch while possibly concealing a firearm under his shirt.

According to authorities, the suspect approached the witness and asked about Vought before leaving the scene.

Investigators later identified Demarco as the man described and executed search warrants that reportedly uncovered evidence tying him to the alleged plot. NewsNation reported that authorities found Demarco had obtained directions to the budget director’s home, had posted online about the victim, and had engaged in online discussions that appeared to solicit others to murder Vought.

Demarco is currently being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 23 for a preliminary hearing. Court records list him as being represented by a public defender.

The case comes amid heightened concern nationwide over threats directed at public officials. In recent years, federal authorities have warned of an increase in violent rhetoric and plots targeting government figures across the political spectrum, including presidents, members of Congress, and senior administration officials.

Earlier this week, Ryan Routh was sentenced to life in prison plus seven years over his attempt to assassinate Donald Trump on a Florida golf course.

Prosecutors argued that Routh, 60, should get a life sentence after a jury last year convicted him on five counts for allegedly plotting “painstakingly to kill President Trump, and [taking] significant steps toward making that happen.” 

“Routh’s crimes undeniably warrant a life sentence — he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims,” prosecutors argued in a court filing. 

During the September trial, a jury quickly found Routh guilty on five felony counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer. 

Routh allegedly hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent. 

Tucker Carlson Claims Trump Shut Down Butler Probe After Bongino ‘Confession’

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Tucker Carlson via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former Fox News star Tucker Carlson is pushing a fresh conspiracy theory about the attempted assassination of President Trump — claiming the president himself ordered federal investigators to back off the probe into the July 2024 shooting in Butler, Pa.

Carlson made the explosive allegation during an appearance on Thursday on entrepreneur Mario Nawfal’s show, where he recounted what he described as a series of conversations with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel regarding lingering questions surrounding the attack.

The claim was quickly shot down by Bongino, who publicly denied Carlson’s account on Friday and blasted the former cable news host as a “nepo baby.”

“I know that, about Butler, I know that Trump shut down the investigation into Butler. That is a fact,” Carlson told Nawfal. “Dan Bongino told me that when he worked at the FBI.”

Carlson alleged Bongino became visibly rattled after Carlson confronted him about social media posts purportedly written by gunman Thomas Crooks that Carlson claims the FBI falsely said did not exist.

“Dan Bongino himself was terrified when I spoke to him in December,” Carlson said.

The conservative commentator claimed he had “accidentally came into possession” of social media posts allegedly authored by Crooks in the months and years before the shooting. Carlson said he contacted both Patel and Bongino seeking answers about why the FBI had allegedly concealed their existence.

“And Dan Bongino became hysterical with me on the phone,” Carlson claimed. “I’ve known Dan a long time for many years and always gotten along with him.”

“He was clearly terrified. I didn’t get it at first, but he was hysterical,” Carlson continued. “And ultimately, after a long series of text exchanges, which I still have, and phone conversations, he said, ‘Look, take it up with Trump. He’s the one who shut down the investigation.’”

Carlson said the alleged exchange occurred during the second week of December and left him questioning why Trump would halt an investigation into an attempt on his own life.

“That was the moment and I realized, ‘Oh wow, there’s no good explanation for shutting down an investigation into your own attempted murder,’” Carlson said.

Watch:

Crooks, 20, opened fire during a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, grazing Trump’s ear, killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore and seriously wounding two others before Secret Service snipers fatally shot him.

Authorities have said Crooks acted alone and have found no evidence linking him to a broader plot. However, the absence of a clear manifesto or publicly known motive has fueled persistent conspiracy theories online.

Carlson, once one of Trump’s most influential media allies, has increasingly broken with the president in recent months. He has repeatedly criticized Trump over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Earlier this year, Carlson suggested Trump’s worldview changed after the Butler shooting.

“He spent his campaign in the 2024 race arguing against regime change war, attacking people in favor of it — and then he launched it,” Carlson said on his own show. “And not just launched it, but became this kind of enthusiastic tool of the government of Israel.”

Bongino forcefully rejected Carlson’s latest allegations Friday morning in a post on X, denying he ever told Carlson that Trump shut down the Butler investigation.

The former FBI official also took a personal swipe at Carlson, dismissing the claims and mocking the commentator as a “nepo baby.”

Attorney General Charges Three In Tesla Attacks

More to come…

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday announced three individuals are facing federal charges for allegedly attacking Tesla properties as protests and vandalism hit Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company across the country.

Calling the charges a “warning,” Bondi said the three individuals are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at Tesla dealerships in three different states in recent weeks.

“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said in a Thursday statement. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”

The charges come amid a wave of violent demonstrations taking place across the nation in protest of Musk’s efforts to slash the federal government and budget under President Trump’s direction.

Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, on Jan. 20, threw approximately eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership located in Salem, Oregon, federal prosecutors said. One vehicle was completely destroyed, and several others were damaged.

Lansky also threw a “large heavy object through the dealership window,” they said. At the time of the attack, he was armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle.

Lucy Grace Nelson, also known as Justin Thomas Nelson, 42, was arrested in Loveland, Colorado on Jan. 29 after attempting to light Teslas on fire with Molotov cocktails, prosecutors said. 

A former high-level FBI special agent said he expects political violence in the United States to continue escalating amid the nationwide destruction of Tesla vehicles and dealerships aimed at intimidating Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk. 

Michael Tabman is the former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office, and he said there is no doubt that recent violent attacks faced by Tesla owners and dealerships are clear cases of domestic terrorism. 

“I do fear that more violence is on its way,” Tabman told Fox News Digital. “Maybe not directly Teslas or DOGE, but just general political violence. I think it’s already here. But I think there’s more around the corner.”

Woman Who Admitted Trump Death Threats To Secret Service Released By Judge

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A woman arrested last month for allegedly making death threats against President Donald Trump has been released by a federal judge who has clashed with the Trump administration several times this year.

Federal Chief Judge James Boasberg ordered the release of 50-year-old Nathalie Rose Jones under electronic monitoring and instructed her to visit a psychiatrist in New York City once she obtains her personal belongings from a local police station.

Her release comes after U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya had ordered her held without bond, citing alarming conduct, including online posts proclaiming willingness to “disembowel” Trump and stage his arrest, and statements admitting she would kill him with a bladed weapon at “the compound.”

Jones took part in a “dignified arrest ceremony” for Trump at a protest in Washington, D.C., which circumnavigated the White House complex and was arrested following an investigation into her series of concerning Instagram and Facebook posts. 

In early August, Jones labeled Trump a terrorist, referred to his administration as a dictatorship, and stated that Trump had caused extreme and unnecessary loss of life in relation to the coronavirus

“I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present,” an Aug. 6 post directed at the FBI states.

The next day, Jones voluntarily agreed to an interview with the Secret Service, during which she called Trump a “terrorist” and a “nazi,” authorities said. 

She said that if she had the opportunity, she would kill Trump at “the compound” if she had to and that she had a “bladed object,” which she said was the weapon she would use to “carry out her mission of killing” the president.

Following the protest in Washington, D.C on Aug. 16, Jones was interviewed again by the Secret Service, during which she admitted that she had made threats towards Trump during her interview the previous day. 

She was charged with threatening to kill, kidnap, or seriously hurt the president and sending messages across state lines that contained threats to kidnap or harm someone.

However, Jones’s lawyers argued their client was unarmed and had no real desire to follow through with the threats, appealed Upadhyaya’s detention decision, and Boasberg overturned Upadhyaya’s detention order.

U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, whose office pushed for the indictment, blasted the jury’s refusal on Tuesday.

“A Washington D.C. grand jury refused to indict someone who threatened to kill the President of the United States. Her intent was clear, traveling through five states to do so,” Pirro told Fox News in an exclusive statement. 

“She even confirmed the same to the U.S. Secret Service. This is the essence of a politicized jury. The system here is broken on many levels. Instead of the outrage that should be engendered by a specific threat to kill the president, the grand jury in D.C. refuses to even let the judicial process begin. Justice should not depend on politics,” Pirro added.

Judge Boasberg’s Background
Judge Boasberg, a Barack Obama appointee, has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration. In March, he issued a restraining order halting deportations of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, ordering planes to return to U.S. soil and demanding an investigation into compliance. He later threatened contempt proceedings, prompting appellate review and momentum that led to Supreme Court rulings affirming due‑process requirements. Trump publicly labeled Boasberg a “Radical Left Lunatic” and sought his impeachment. Additionally, Trump‑aligned officials, including AG Pam Bondi, filed a complaint over Boasberg’s remarks warning of a constitutional crisis and criticizing the administration—remarks Bondi argued had no factual basis and undermined judicial impartiality. (RELATED: DOJ Files Complaint Against Judge Boasberg Over Anti-Trump Comments, Deportation Case Actions)

Recent Assassination Attempts Targeting Donald Trump

1. Butler, Pennsylvania Rally — July 13, 2024

  • What happened: Former President Trump was addressed at a campaign rally near Butler, PA, when 20‑year‑old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a nearby rooftop with an AR‑15‑style rifle. Trump was grazed in the upper right ear; one attendee, firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed, and two others critically injured. Secret Service counter‑snipers neutralized Crooks seconds after he began firing.

Aftermath & investigations: A House task force released a report by December 2024. A Government Accountability Office audit (July 2025) found that the Secret Service failed to share vital threat intelligence internally, and suffered planning and communication breakdowns. Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley criticized entrenched mismanagement and cited funding under a recent bill to help rebuild the agency. Meanwhile, six Secret Service agents received suspensions—the longest up to 42 days—for their roles in the security failure. The agency has since overhauled protocols, including deploying drones and increasing law enforcement coordination.

2. West Palm Beach, Florida Golf Course — September 15, 2024

  • What happened: While golfing at his Trump International Golf Club, Trump was threatened by 59-year‑old Ryan Wesley Routh. The suspect was seen aiming a rifle from shrubbery. A Secret Service agent intervened, no shots were fired at Trump, and Routh fled but was later detained.
  • Legal proceedings: Routh faces federal charges including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate. He remains in custody, and a federal trial is scheduled to begin September 8, 2025.

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Illegal Immigrant Suspect Charged In Boulder Terror Attack

Police image via Pixabay free images

Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman is now facing murder, assault and other charges following what the FBI called a “targeted terror attack” in Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend. 

The violence Sunday against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages left eight people, ages 52 to 88, with injuries, including one in critical condition, according to the FBI. Police responded to the area after receiving reports of a man with a weapon setting people on fire. 

Soliman was charged with murder in the first degree – deliberation with intent; murder in the first degree – extreme indifference; crimes against at-risk adults/elderly; 1st degree assault – non-family; 1st degree assault – heat of passion; criminal attempt to commit class one and class two felonies; and use of explosives or incendiary devices during felony.

The suspect in the firebombing attack targeting a pro-Israel demonstration in Colorado is believed to be an illegal alien from Egpyt who overstayed his visa after it expired.

Several people were injured Sunday afternoon at a Boulder, Colorado, rally in support of the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas terrorists after a man set people on fire while yelling “free Palestine” and “end zionist.” Police arrived at the scene and found that victims had “injuries consistent with burns and other injuries.”

The FBI said that six people were taken to the hospital with injuries, and that a witness said the suspect in the attack “used a makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd.”

As of Monday morning, there have been no fatalities confirmed by either the FBI or Boulder Police Department. Soliman was booked into the Boulder County Jail on Sunday evening and remains held on a $10 million bond. 

Authorities are now investigating the firebombing attack against the pro-Israel demonstration as an act of ideologically motivated terrorism.

“We are investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence. All of the necessary assets will be dedicated to this investigation,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement online. “If you have any investigative tips please contact the FBI. And if you aided or abetted this attack, we will find you. You cannot hide.”

“This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts,” Bongino added in a subsequent post.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard added that her agency is investigating the case.

“National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground investigating the targeted terror attack against a weekly meeting of Jewish community members who had just gathered in Boulder, CO to raise awareness of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller slammed the Biden administration in a post calling for “suicidal migration” to be reversed after Soliman’s visa status was revealed.

GOP Congressman Floats Prospect Of Contempt Charges For Pam Bondi

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Image via Pixabay

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) suggested this week that holding Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt remains an option as Congress presses the Justice Department over its handling of the long-awaited Epstein files.

Massie, who helped author legislation requiring the release of government records tied to convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, said lawmakers are still not receiving full access to unredacted documents — despite the deadline set by Congress.

Appearing Tuesday on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Massie accused the Justice Department of failing to deliver what the law requires and raised concerns that redactions appear inconsistent and unjustified.

“We have not had access to totally unredacted files,” Massie said, adding that names such as Epstein associate and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Leslie Wexner have been blacked out “for no apparent reason.”

Massie said the DOJ’s refusal to acknowledge gaps in its production makes it difficult for Congress — and the public — to trust that the full truth is being released.

“If they’ll admit that they’re making mistakes and that their document production is not done, I could trust them,” Massie said. “But I can’t trust them if they say… this is it, there’s no more.”

The Kentucky Republican noted he would have limited time to question Bondi when she appeared Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, warning that stronger measures could follow if answers are not forthcoming.

Massie first raised the possibility of using Congress’s “inherent contempt” powers against Bondi in a weekend interview, calling it the most direct way to force compliance.

“The quickest way… to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi,” he said.

Still, Massie acknowledged the challenge of pursuing contempt charges against the nation’s top law enforcement official, noting that referrals often run through the same department under scrutiny.

“You know, it’s hard to refer a contempt charge… on an attorney general to the attorney general,” Massie said. “This is the problem that you run into.”

Instead, he suggested Congress may need to compel testimony from individuals named in the documents, similar to efforts already underway by the House Oversight Committee.

Bondi’s appearance on Wednesday quickly turned tense as Democrats confronted her over the Justice Department’s redaction process — particularly allegations that some victims’ identities were improperly exposed while other information, including references to powerful individuals, was withheld.

Watch:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pressed Bondi to apologize directly to Epstein survivors seated in the hearing room, accusing the DOJ of mishandling sensitive records.

Bondi declined to issue a direct apology for the department’s release process, offering general sympathy for victims but defending the DOJ’s actions. The exchange escalated into a sharp back-and-forth, with Bondi accusing Jayapal of engaging in “theatrics.”

Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) struggled to bring the room back to order as lawmakers debated whether the Justice Department has been transparent — or selective — in what it has released.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls On Trump To Pardon George Santos

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Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons

Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) is coming to the defense of disgraced former Congressman George Santos, who is currently serving out his prison sentence.

On Monday, Greene called on President Trump to issue a pardon to Santos, who began his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey last month after being sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and identity theft. (RELATED: Disgraced Former Rep. George Santos Gets Over 7 Years In Prison)

In a letter to President Trump’s U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, Greene wrote:

I am writing to request that your office urge the President to commute the sentence of former Congressman George Santos. In April 2025, Mr. Santos was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of the law, and I understand the gravity of such actions. However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted.

As a Member of Congress, I worked with Mr. Santos on many issues and can attest to his willingness and dedication to serve the people of New York who elected him to office. He committed himself to serving his constituents and did whatever it took to represent their interests in Washington, D.C. He is sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions. Furthermore, my office has spoken with a pastor of his who discussed the regret and remorse of Mr. Santos, agreeing that the sentence imposed is a grave injustice.

While his crimes warrant punishment, many of my colleagues who I serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges. I strongly believe in accountability for one’s actions, but I believe the sentencing of Mr. Santos is an abusive overreach by the judicial system.

Commuting his sentence would acknowledge the severity of his actions and simultaneously provide a path forward in allowing him to make amends for his crimes and strive to better serve the people in his community.

In May, Santos teared up on Piers Morgan Uncensored and pleaded with Trump for a pardon, “commutation, clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me,” after being sentenced.

The former congressman also requested protective custody after expressing fear of being “brutalized” in prison.

“I’m not fearful of dying in there, I’m more fearful of being severely brutalized and harmed, if you get my drift,” he said.

Watch:

Last month, during an interview with Tucker Carlson, Santos also expressed concern that his time in prison could be a “death sentence.”

“Tucker, can I be honest with you?” Santos asked Carlson, who called Santos’s prison sentence unfair compared to lesser sentences handed to violent criminals.

“I hope you will,” Carlson responded.

“I don’t know that I survive it. They’re putting me in a violent prison. It’s a medium facility. I’m not a street-wise guy. I don’t know how to fight. I’m a gay man. We– statistics tell you what happens to gay men in prison. I didn’t know I survived this. I, I’m being honest. I mean, I can’t change that,” Santos said, later saying his only hope is prayer and a longshot pardon from President Donald Trump.

When Carlson pressed Santos on whether he was being serious, Santos insisted he is not “exaggerating” his fear, saying he’s lived a “sheltered” life that in no way prepared him for prison.

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DOJ Slams Alleged DC Pipe Bomber’s Bid To Claim Trump Pardon

Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Justice Department is forcefully pushing back against a striking legal claim from the man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., on the eve of Jan. 6 — that he was effectively pardoned by President Trump.

In a court filing Friday, prosecutors urged a federal judge to reject Brian Cole Jr.’s attempt to have his charges thrown out, calling his argument flatly incompatible with the “clear and unambiguous terms” of Trump’s sweeping Jan. 6 clemency order.

Cole, who was arrested in December 2025 after years of investigation, is accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021 — just hours before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

The devices never detonated, but the FBI has said they were functional and viable, raising the stakes of a case that remained unsolved for nearly five years.

Earlier this year, Cole’s lawyers made a bold move: They argued that his actions were “inextricably and demonstrably tethered” to the events of Jan. 6 — and therefore covered by Trump’s mass pardon of people tied to the attack.

They pointed to the broad language in Trump’s order, which applies to offenses “related to” events at or near the Capitol, and noted that Cole allegedly traveled to Washington for an election protest tied to the same political moment that fueled the riot.

But the Justice Department isn’t buying it.

“The defendant ignores that the proclamation expressly limited relief to individuals who had been ‘convicted of,’ or had a ‘pending indictment’ for, offenses related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro wrote.

That distinction, prosecutors argue, is decisive.

When Trump’s pardon took effect on Jan. 20, 2025, Cole had not yet been charged — putting him outside the scope of the order entirely.

“The defendant belonged to neither category, and so the proclamation has no bearing on this case,” Pirro wrote.

Cole was indicted weeks later, in January 2026, on charges including interstate transportation of explosives and malicious attempt to use them.

Prosecutors also made clear that even a broader reading of the pardon wouldn’t help him.

“Even if the Court somehow found, notwithstanding its text, that the proclamation could apply to this case,” Pirro wrote, the Justice Department’s interpretation should still prevail as a “consistent, reasonable” reading by the agency tasked with enforcing it.

The clash sets up a high-stakes test of how far Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons can stretch — and whether conduct that happened before the riot, but is arguably connected to it, can fall under their umbrella.

For now, the Justice Department’s position is blunt: Not this case. Not this defendant.

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