Three years later, Jan 6. pipe bomber mystery still unsolved

(NEW YORK) — Three years after the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, federal law enforcement leaders still have one major unsolved mystery — finding the person who placed two pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national headquarters the day before the riots.

The FBI, along with the Bureau of Alcohol Firearms and Tobacco, D.C. Police and the U.S. Capitol Police said this week that finding whomever is responsible is a “top priority.”

Between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021, a hooded figure with Nike shoes and a severe gait was seen on camera footage placing what were ultimately two live pipe bombs outside of the DNC and RNC, according to investigators.

The FBI is still offering a $500,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

One of the challenges in the investigation is that there wasn’t a lot of video footage captured in the area, according to the former official who led the investigation.

“People surmise and suspect that, ‘oh, there’s all this video all over the country, all over D.C.’ It’s not true,” Steven D’Antuono, the former head of the FBI Washington Field Office, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on June 7, 2023.

D’Antuono testified that the DNC didn’t have a good video system at the time. That system has since been upgraded.

“We did every check, every lab test, every data. We ran this through systems back and forth, up and down, sideways, all over the place,” he testified about the search for the suspect.

The bombs did not detonate, however, the FBI noted that the suspect placed them in “residential and commercial areas in Capitol Hill just blocks from the U.S. Capitol with viable pipe bombs that could have seriously injured or killed innocent bystanders.”

“Over the past three years, a dedicated team of FBI agents, analysts, data scientists and law enforcement partners has worked thousands of hours conducting interviews, reviewing physical and digital evidence, and assessing tips from the public about who may have placed pipe bombs on Capitol Hill,” said David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office.

“We urge anyone who may have previously hesitated to come forward or who may not have realized they had important information to contact us and share anything relevant,” he said.