FBI arrests man suspected of planting bombs on eve of January 6, 2021 Capitol riot

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities have arrested a man suspected of planting pipe bombs in Washington the night before the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, two officials briefed on the matter said on Thursday.

The FBI released surveillance video, offered a $500,000 reward and received hundreds of tips in a years-long search for the suspect they believe was involved in the incident that took place nearly five years ago.

The footage, from January 5, 2021, showed a person putting a bomb near a bench outside the Democratic National Committee building. The suspect placed another bomb at the Republican headquarters. Both sites are near the Capitol.

The suspect was in Virginia when he was arrested, according to a law enforcement official.

“We have him,” a Justice Department official told Reuters

He is expected to make an initial court appearance in Washington, according to a source briefed on the matter.

The bombs were discovered on the same day supporters of Trump stormed Congress in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory.

Police deactivated the bombs and neither exploded.

In the January 6, 2021, melee at the Capitol, rioters surged past police barricades, assaulting about 140 officers and causing more than $2.8 million in damage. Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged for participating in the riot, some 1,500 people, when he returned to office in January.

(Reporting by Jana Winter and Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Katharine Jackson and Costas Pitas; Editing by Scott Malone)