When President Donald Trump officially pardoned and commuted the sentences of 1,200 rioters in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, critics warned he’d set a dangerous precedent for future suspects trying to undermine the criminal justice system. Now, it seems Trump’s controversial order is coming back to bite him after the Black man accused of planting pipe bombs on the eve of the riots makes his case in court.
Suggested Reading
We previously told you Brian Jerome Cole Jr. was arrested back in December after police accused him of placing homemade explosives near the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees on Jan. 5, 2021. The explosives never detonated, and it took nearly five years for authorities to connect the alleged plot back to him.
Cole’s arrest also came nearly a year after President Trump pardoned the J6 rioters. According to his legal team, the president’s umbrella ruling should also apply to him. “The Pardon—like it or not—applies to Mr. Cole, based on the ordinary and plain meaning of the Pardon’s language as applied to the relevant facts in this case,” Cole’s lawyers, Mario Williams and John Shoreman, wrote on Monday (March 16), according to USA Today.
They added that the Black man was part of “the same political controversy that animated the January 6 crowd.
“Cole lived a quiet life in Virginia before he allegedly traveled to the nation’s capital on the eve of President Joe Biden’s Congressional confirmation. As we all know, Jan. 6, 2021 turned into chaos after Trump charged his followers to “stop the count.” Whether Trump knew it or not, his actions prompted the riots that killed five Americans.
The second section of Trump’s January 2025 pardon states the broad strokes of the order would “grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.” According to Cole’s legal team, he fits perfectly under these specifications.
It’s important to note that the government previously defined the bombs as being directly tied to the insurrection. The White House has not publicly addressed Cole’s newest motion. If convicted, Cole faces up to 20 years behind bars.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.