WASHINGTON (Aiexpress) — A chilling chapter in American history remains unsolved: who put pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican national committee headquarters in Washington on the eve of the Capitol attack?
The FBI is releasing more details about its pipe bomb investigation in the hopes of generating new tips from the public, including an estimate that the suspected suspect is around 5 feet 7 inches tall. The FBI is also releasing previously undisclosed video of the suspect planting one of the devices.
Four years later, many basic questions remain unsolved. For starters, investigators have not determined whether the suspect is male or female. They also have not established a clear link between the pipe bombs and the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, by a crowd of Donald Trump supporters.
Sundberg told The Associated Press that it is difficult to determine motive without knowing the suspect’s identify. “Therefore, it would be difficult for us to state that there is a link, although we can’t state there is not one.”
In the absence of any concrete evidence, Republican politicians and right-wing media sources have spread conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs. House Republicans have also blasted security flaws, questioning how law enforcement was unable to identify the devices for 17 hours.
“We remain focused on conducting an investigation using all of the tools we have at our disposal,” Sundberg said the audience. “But it is incumbent upon us to follow facts and evidence.”
Over the last four years, the FBI has received over 600 tips, evaluated about 39,000 video files, and conducted over 1,000 interviews. Images show the suspect dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt, a face mask, black gloves, and black and grey Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers with a yellow emblem. The individual also wore or carried a backpack with the bombs.
Surveillance footage recorded the culprit placing the pipe bombs near the committees’ offices between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. on January 5, 2021. No one was injured before the bombs were declared safe, but the FBI claims both devices could have been devastating.
Kamala Harris, the then-Vice President-elect, was inside the DNC buildings when the pipe bomb was discovered outside around 1:05 p.m. on January 6. According to House Republicans, before the device was neutralized, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s convoy drove past the DNC headquarters as she was evacuated from the Capitol.
This week, the FBI released a minute-long video of the suspect sitting on a park bench outside the DNC before putting the first explosive at 7:54 p.m. According to the FBI, the suspect planted the second explosive around 8:16 p.m. in an alley behind the RNC.
The FBI is also publishing close-up photographs of the suspect’s Nike sneakers. The FBI reports that fewer than 25,000 pairs of the same sneaker were sold between August 2018 and January 2021.
“Based on attire, those are probably the most remarkable or distinctive feature when it comes to clothing the suspect wore,” according to Sundberg. “We’re hoping that somebody might recognize that.”
The FBI used security footage to monitor the suspect’s travels through Capitol Hill on the night of January 5. The suspect is first seen on camera at 7:34 p.m. at the junction of First Street and North Carolina Avenue. The suspect was last seen on camera around 8:18 p.m., traveling east on Rumsey Court.
The FBI “can’t work on assumptions,” according to David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the bureau’s Washington field office.
“The suspect in this case did a very good job covering themselves up at a time when this was not unusual, so it didn’t draw any attention,” Sundberg said, referring to face masking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Sundberg, video of the suspect was irregular and often of low quality. The 17-hour gap between the pipe bombs’ placing and finding made it more difficult to locate prospective witnesses, he explained.
Authorities had previously offered a reward of up to $500,000 for information leading to the suspect’s capture and conviction.
President-elect Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, has often promised to pardon some or all of the rioters who stormed the Capitol. More than 1,500 persons have been charged in connection with offenses committed on January 6. Approximately 1,100 have been convicted and sentenced. Over 700 offenders received prison terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.
Sundberg said he does not expect the change in administration to affect the FBI’s pipe bomb probe.
“We don’t know who the suspect is,” he explained. “And I expect that we will continue to work this case until its logical conclusion and we identify a suspect.”
