By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A harrowing chapter in American historical past stays shrouded in thriller: Who planted pipe bombs outdoors places of work of the Democratic and Republican nationwide committees in Washington on the eve of the assault on the Capitol?
Hoping to generate new ideas from the general public, the FBI is releasing extra details about its pipe bomb investigation, together with an estimate that the unidentified suspect is about 5 toes 7 inches tall. The bureau is also posting beforehand unreleased video of the suspect inserting one of many bombs.
A number of primary questions stays unanswered 4 years later. For starters, investigators haven’t decided if the suspect is a person or a girl. Nor have they established a transparent hyperlink between the pipe bombs and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters.
The FBI “can’t work on assumptions,” mentioned David Sundberg, assistant director in control of the bureau’s Washington subject workplace.
“Without being able to confirm the suspect’s identity, it is very hard to definitively establish motive,” Sundberg advised The Related Press. “Therefore, it would be difficult for us to state that there is a link, although we can’t state there is not one.”
Within the absence of more durable proof, Republican lawmakers and right-wing media shops have promoted conspiracy theories in regards to the pipe bombs. Home Republicans even have criticized safety lapses, questioning how regulation enforcement did not detect the bombs for 17 hours.
“We remain focused on conducting an investigation using all of the tools we have at our disposal,” Sundberg mentioned. “But it is incumbent upon us to follow facts and evidence.”
The FBI has assessed over 600 ideas, reviewed about 39,000 video information and carried out greater than 1,000 interviews over the previous 4 years. Pictures present the suspect was sporting a grey hooded sweatshirt, a face masks, black gloves and a black and gray pair of Nike Air Max Velocity Turf sneakers with a yellow brand. The particular person additionally wore or carried a backpack containing the bombs.
Surveillance video captured the suspect inserting the pipe bombs close to the committees’ places of work between 7:30 p.m. and eight:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021. No person was harm earlier than the bombs had been rendered protected, however the FBI says each units might have been deadly.
Kamala Harris, then the Vice President-elect, was contained in the DNC places of work when the pipe bomb was discovered outdoors the constructing about 1:05 p.m. on Jan. 6. Earlier than the bomb was deactivated, then-Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s motorcade handed by the DNC constructing as she was evacuated from the Capitol, in keeping with Home Republicans.
This week, the FBI is releasing a minute-long video that exhibits the suspect sitting on a park bench outdoors the DNC earlier than inserting the primary bomb there at about 7:54 p.m. The suspect positioned the second bomb about 8:16 p.m., in an alley behind the RNC, the FBI says.
The FBI is also releasing closeup photos of the kind of Nike sneakers worn by the suspect. Fewer than 25,000 pairs of the identical shoe had been bought between August 2018 and January 2021, in keeping with the FBI.
“Based on attire, those are probably the most remarkable or distinctive feature when it comes to clothing the suspect wore,” Sundberg mentioned. “We’re hoping that somebody might recognize that.”
The FBI used surveillance footage to trace the suspect’s actions by Capitol Hill on the night time of Jan. 5. The suspect initially is captured on video at about 7:34 p.m. on the intersection of First Avenue and North Carolina Avenue. The suspect is final seen on digital camera round 8:18 p.m. heading east on Rumsey Court docket.
“The suspect in this case did a very good job covering themselves up at a time that this would not be abnormal, so it didn’t raise any attention,” Sundberg mentioned, referring to face masking throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Video of the suspect was sporadically out there and sometimes of poor high quality, in keeping with Sundberg. The 17-hour hole between the planting and discovery of the pipe bombs made it harder to determine potential witnesses, he mentioned.
Authorities beforehand supplied a reward of as much as $500,000 for info resulting in the suspect’s arrest and conviction.
President-elect Trump, who returns to the White Home on Jan. 20, repeatedly has vowed to pardon some or most of the rioters who stormed the Capitol. Greater than 1,500 folks have been charged with Jan. 6-related crimes. About 1,100 have been convicted and sentenced. Over 700 defendants obtained phrases of imprisonment starting from just a few days to 22 years.
Sundberg mentioned he doesn’t count on the change in administration to change the course of the FBI’s pipe bomb investigation.
“We don’t know who the suspect is,” he added. “And I expect that we will continue to work this case until its logical conclusion and we identify a suspect.”
Initially Printed: January 2, 2025 at 6:33 PM EST
