FBI has made ‘little meaningful progress’ toward identifying Jan. 6 pipe bomb suspect: House GOP report

House Republicans warned Thursday that Americans are “less secure” as a result of the FBI’s “failure” to identify the person responsible for placing pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters nearly four years ago. 

A report on the attempted bombings released by Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), the chairman of the House Administration Committee’s oversight panel, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) found “little meaningful progress” has been made in the investigation and revealed that federal law enforcement has “refused to provide substantive updates to Congress” about the current status of the probe. 

The FBI’s investigation “yielded a promising array of data and revealed numerous persons of interest” in the initial weeks of the probe, according to the lawmakers, but the case soon went cold.

“By the end of February 2021, the FBI began diverting resources away from the pipe bomb investigation,” the report states, noting that “one possible explanation for the reduction in resources is that the number of credible leads began to decline, no longer requiring as many special agents to cover the workload.”

“Ultimately, however, almost four years after the placement of the pipe bombs, no suspect has been arrested or identified,” the report concludes.

Investigators believe the two pipe bombs, described by the FBI as “viable explosive devices,” were planted outside the two major political parties’ headquarters in Washington, DC, on Jan. 5, 2021 — the night before the riot at the US Capitol — by a person carrying a backpack and wearing a grey-hooded sweatshirt, mask, gloves, glasses, and a pair of Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers. 

The devices were discovered the following afternoon, at around the same time Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“In the immediate aftermath of January 6, the FBI’s case team worked aggressively to cultivate and pursue leads toward apprehending the pipe bomb suspect,” the lawmakers said, noting that the bureau initially assigned more than 50 investigators to work the case. 

“The investigation also comprised of a range of investigative support teams such as the Cellular Analysis Survey Team, the Computer Analysis Response Team, and the Digital Imaging and Video Recovery Team,” they added. “As a result, by April 2021, the FBI had collected over 105,000,000 data points in connection with the investigation.” 

The FBI identified multiple persons of interest early in the investigation, including:

• A person who searched the term “pipe bomb DC” online prior to the discovery of the devices — but only after the explosives had been planted;
• a person who took photographs of the area where one of the bombs was placed the morning before it was planted;
• a vehicle that drove past the RNC with a passenger matching the description of the suspect minutes after the bombs were planted;
• a person who owned a pair of the distinctive sneakers worn by the suspect who worked near the crime scene;
• and five individuals whose cell data matched the movements of the suspect on Jan. 5, 2021. 

The lawmakers noted that FBI’s actions in response to several leads — such as the person who searched “pipe bomb DC” and the owner of the Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers — “remain unknown.” 

“In response to questions about the FBI’s inability to identify the suspect using cellular data, one former senior FBI official blamed cellular companies for providing ‘corrupted’ data,” the report states. “To date, the FBI has refused to comply with multiple requests from the Subcommittees regarding this claim.” 

Congressional investigators, however, cast doubt on the FBI officials claim. 

“The major cell carriers confirmed that they did not provide corrupted data to the FBI and that the FBI never notified them of any issues with accessing the cellular data,” the lawmakers wrote. 

The report further described how catastrophic it would have been had the devices detonated.

The bombs packed enough punch to seriously maim or kill innocent bystanders and were put near commuter rail tracks.

The blast could have produced “heavy fragmentation,” resulting in shrapnel “flying through” the exterior of the trains and causing “serious bodily injury and or death.” 

As previously reported, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both came “within feet” of the devices as they traveled to and from the DNC headquarters on Jan. 6, 2021. 

In Pelosi’s case, her motorcade drove past one of the bombs after it was discovered by law enforcement, the report stated, blaming law enforcement for failing to adequately secure the perimeter. 

“The devices placed many lawmakers, staff, law enforcement, and residents in harm’s way. Yet, almost four years after the incident, Americans scarcely have any detail about who planted the bombs or why,” the report indicated.

“This lack of information hampers Congress’s ability to legislate improvements to the security of the Capitol Complex and the operations of federal law enforcement,” it added. “The failure to identify, apprehend, and prosecute the bomber ultimately makes all Americans less secure.”

The FBI’s Washington Field Office, which has been leading the investigation into the attempted bombing, released new video footage on Thursday of the suspect roaming the streets of DC’s Capitol Hill neighborhood before and after placing the explosives. 

The agency also updated maps of the route the suspect walked the night the bombs were placed and said it has now determined that the suspect is approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall. 

“Over the past four years, a dedicated team of FBI agents, analysts, data scientists, and law enforcement partners has visited more than 1,200 residences and businesses, conducted more than 1,000 interviews, reviewed approximately 39,000 video files, and assessed more than 600 tips about who may have placed pipe bombs on Capitol Hill in January 2021,” said David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said in a statement. 

“The tips the FBI has received so far have helped us advance the investigation, but they have not led us to identify the suspect,” he added, encouraging the public to “take a fresh look at the Seeking Information webpage and contact the FBI if they recognize or have information about the suspect.”

Sundberg noted that the FBI is offering up to a $500,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for planting the pipe bombs.