The FBI arrested a suspect in its investigation into pipe bombs planted near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021, according to a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
The arrest marks a breakthrough in a case that has stymied investigators for nearly five years.
An FBI official says the arrest occurred Thursday morning. A press conference will be held Thursday at the Department of Justice to officially announce the arrest.
Federal investigators have said that one individual placed a pipe bomb near the Democratic National Committee headquarters and another near the Republican National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.
Since then, the FBI has repeatedly asked the public for information that could lead to an arrest, including the release in January of additional video of the suspect planting one of the bombs. The office has said the suspect is estimated to be approximately 5 feet, 7 inches tall and was wearing Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a gold logo.
In 2023, the FBI increased the reward for providing information leading to an arrest from $100,000 to $500,000.
Lawmakers have criticized the lack of arrest in the case.
The FBI has said that the pipe bombs, which were discovered on Jan. 6 about 15 hours after they were planted, were viable devices that could have seriously injured or killed bystanders. The office has said investigators conducted more than 1,000 interviews and reviewed tens of thousands of video files.
The mystery of the attacker’s identity helped fuel some conspiracy theories, including the notion that the government had misled supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol. Last month, the FBI debunked another that suggested the bombs were planted by a former Capitol Police officer.
While Trump pardoned the January 6 rioters, including those who attacked law enforcement officers, on his first day back in office this year, the pardon language did not extend to the individual who planted pipe bombs near the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee.
