AP report: FBI makes arrests in investigation into pipe bombs placed in D.C. on eve of Jan. 6 attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI made an arrest Thursday in its nearly 5-year investigation into who placed pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The arrest marks the first time investigators have identified a suspect in an act that has long troubled law enforcement, given rise to numerous conspiracy theories and remains an enduring mystery in light of the dark chapter of American history: the violent Capitol siege.

Read more: One year after January 6, the FBI is still hunting pipe bombers and other insurrection suspects.

The official who described the arrest was not authorized to discuss a case that has not yet been made public, and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said that the arrest was made on Thursday morning, and the suspect is a man. No other details were immediately available, including what charges the man may face.

The pipe bombs were placed on the evening of January 5, 2021, near the offices of the Democratic and Republican National Committees in the District of Columbia. No one was hurt before the bombs were confirmed safe, but the FBI said both devices could have been lethal.

In the years since, investigators have asked for the public’s help in identifying a mysterious subject seen on surveillance camera even as they struggle to determine answers to basic questions, including the person’s gender, motive and whether the act had a clear connection to the riot at the Capitol the next day when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of the Republican’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Seeking a breakthrough, the FBI last January released additional information about the investigation, including an estimate that the suspect is about 5-foot-7, as well as a previously unreleased video of the suspect placing one of the bombs.

The office has struggled for years to identify the suspect despite hundreds of tips, a review of tens of thousands of video files and a large number of interviews.

In the absence of stronger evidence, Republican lawmakers and right-wing media have promoted conspiracy theories about pipe bombs. House Republicans also criticized the security lapses, questioning how law enforcement failed to detect the bombs for 17 hours. Dan Bongino, the current FBI deputy director, raised the possibility last year before he was appointed to his post that the act was an “inside job” and involved a “massive cover-up.”

But since arriving at the FBI in March, he has sought to strike a blow at the restive base on the far right by promising that the pipe bomb investigation would be a top priority and defending the bureau’s work.

“We brought in new staff to look at the case, sent police officers and investigators serving as TFOs (task force officers) to review the FBI’s work, conducted multiple internal reviews, held countless in-person and SVTC meetings with members of the investigative team, dramatically increased investigative resources, and increased the public award for information in the case to leverage crowdsourced leads,” he wrote in a long post on X last month.