Bongino Says FBI ‘Closing In’ On J6 Pipe Bomb Suspects
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino turned heads late last week when he announced that the bureau is “closing in” on suspects connected to the placement of two pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — signaling that the long-running, four-year investigation may be nearing a breakthrough after lying dormant throughout the Biden administration.
“The second we got in, I put a team on it and I said, ‘I want answers on this,’” Bongino told “Fox & Friends.” “And I’m pretty confident that we’re closing in on some suspects.”
Law enforcement discovered two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees just as thousands of protesters began converging on the U.S. Capitol, protesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Some of President Donald Trump’s supporters has questioned the timing of the pipe bomb incident and pointed to potential security lapses, speculating that the Biden administration has not been fully transparent about the details of the case. Before taking office, Bongino was a prominent advocate of that perspective, Fox News reported.
Former Secret Service agent and podcast host Bongino previously told listeners of his widely followed conservative show that the FBI misled the public about the pipe bomb incident, claiming the bureau was covering up evidence of an “inside job.”
Now as the No. 2 FBI official, Bongino is under growing pressure from both supporters and critics to release additional details about the case.
“Video footage released by the FBI shows an unidentified person placing the pipe bombs near the two headquarters more than 16 hours before law enforcement found them,” Fox reported, adding: “The suspect is seen wearing a gray hoodie, Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers, a face mask, glasses, and gloves.”
Just before the administration change in January, the FBI disclosed a small but notable detail — the suspect in the pipe bomb case was estimated to be about 5-foot-7.
The first device was discovered after a Capitol Hill resident spotted it in an alley behind the Republican National Committee headquarters while retrieving her laundry around 1 p.m. Surveillance footage captured her sprinting away from the area near the washer and dryer to alert a nearby security guard.
Her warning triggered an urgent search that led officers to locate a second pipe bomb near the Democratic National Committee headquarters, Fox noted.
Previously, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general report published in 2024 revealed the two explosive devices were “viable” and “could have detonated, causing innocent bystanders to be seriously injured or killed.”
The bombs were equipped with one-hour timers, but according to a DHS report, an FBI official stated they likely couldn’t have detonated because the timers had long expired by the time the devices were discovered.
That same DHS report, along with a separate investigation by House Republicans, revealed that then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were, at one point, within feet of the pipe bomb located near the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
The FBI has reported receiving over 600 tips and continues to offer a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
According to a report from House Republicans, early leads in the investigation included a person who had searched online for “pipe bomb DC” and another individual who had recently bought the same model of Nike shoes worn by the suspect captured on surveillance footage.
“The report noted, however, that the pace of the FBI’s inquiry dropped off after about a month as a result of leads drying up,” Fox reported.
Last week, fired former FBI Director James Comey complained about current Director Kash Patel and Bongino announcing the reopening cases on social media involving “potential public corruption,” which many saw as an attempt to deflect attention away from his own responsibility for some of it.
