FBI Still Unable To Locate Capitol Hill Bomber, Releases New Footage

The FBI is still unable to locate the individual who placed two pipe bombs near the United States Capitol the night before the January 6 attack and the agency has released new footage in hopes of attracting new information.

The suspect placed a pair of sophisticated pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol in the early evening hours of January 5. The person placed one bomb outside of the Democratic Party Headquarters and one bomb outside of the Republican Party Headquarters, and both bombs were poised to go off.The new footage, obtained from security surveillance cameras located nearby, appears to show the person in front of both buildings.

“At 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 5, the suspected bomber is seen standing in a residential neighborhood on South Capitol Street with the bag, which is briefly set on the ground as a man walking his dog passes by,” ABC News reported. “At 7:52 p.m., the person can be seen seated on a bench in front of the DNC, where the first pipe bomb was reportedly placed under a bush. The suspect appears to zip up a bag, stand up, and walk away.”

“At 8:14 p.m., the suspected bomber is seen in an alley near the RNC, where a second pipe bomb was found. Moments later, a security camera captures the suspect walking in front of the Capitol Hill Club, adjacent to the RNC and less than half a block from the Cannon House Office Building,” the outlet continued.The FBI noted, in the days after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, that the bombs were “viable devices” and that it was shocking that neither bomb detonated. The FBI’s assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office reiterated those claims in a statement yesterday, again seeking the public’s help in locating the suspected bomber.

“These pipe bombs were viable devices that could have been detonated, resulting in serious injury or death. We need the public’s help to identify the individual responsible for placing these pipe bombs to ensure they will not harm themselves or anyone else,” the agent said.

A new “wanted” poster also shows photos of the suspect, who is seen wearing a gray hoodie and dark pants, as well as photos of the suspect’s distinctive sneakers, a pair of Nike Air Max Speed Turfs with a yellow Nike swoosh up the side. The new wanted poster lists the reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest at $100,000.

News of the bomber seems to have been lost in the furor to identify and arrest other Capitol rioters, many of whom the FBI now says have existing connections to “right-wing extremist” and “militia” groups that actively orchestrated the attack in the days and weeks leading up to a planned rally in support of then-President Donald Trump on January 6.

Although Democrats initially suggested that President Donald Trump himself inspired the attack, the FBI now says that there were indications that such groups were planning to declare “war” in Washington, D.C., that day, though recent testimony in front of a Senate committee indicates the agency did not share that information with United States Capitol Police.