The Virginia man accused of planting pipe bombs at the nation’s capital on Jan. 5, 2021, is requesting a conditional release from jail as his attorney cites his autism diagnosis. Federal prosecutors allege that Brian Cole, 30, is the man who planted explosive devices at the Republican and Demo cratic national party headquarters the night before rioters swarmed the Capitol Building. He’s been in custody since his Dec. 4 arrest when he was charged with transporting an explosive device and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. Cole has not yet entered a plea. In a federal court filing Tuesday morning, Cole’s attorneys said he has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The filing described his diagnosis as a mild form of autism. Several character reference letters were included in the filing from people who say they’ve known Cole for years. “While I understand the seriousness of the charges against Brian Cole Jr., these charges seem totally out of character from the Brian Cole Jr. that I have observed over many years,” one individual who has known Cole for 22 years wrote. Their name was redacted. Cole’s attorneys wrote that the government has not presented any evidence that suggests evasive conduct or resistance to law enforcement. They argued that Cole doesn’t pose an ongoing threat to the community, and is happy to comply with all court ordered restrictions. He has kept the same job with his family’s bail bonds business over several years and hasn’t moved or attempted to flee, the filing said. “The government argues that Mr. Cole spent nearly five years trying to evade detection,” the filing said. “Not true: Mr. Cole lived with his parents the entire time, never moved, and followed his same routine daily.” But in a motion filed on Sunday, the government alleged that Cole wore a face mask and gloves the night he planted the bombs, as well as wiping down the bombs with disinfectant. The government said Cole also performed a factory reset of his phone more than 900 times between December 2020 and the day he was arrested. Federal prosecutors have urged a judge to keep Cole in detention, alleging that Cole felt “extreme acts of violence” were justified because of his dislike of both political parties. The motion said that the man told FBI agents that “something just snapped” after he had watched “everything getting worse.” Washington DC Dec 28 D.C. pipe bomb suspect disliked both political parties and felt violence would be justified, prosecutors say Capitol Riot Dec 5 Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he believed 2020 election conspiracy theories He directed his ire at the Democratic and Republican parties because “they were in charge,” Cole told agents, according to the government filing. NBC News, citing three sources familiar with the matter, previously reported that Cole confessed to having planted the pipe bombs in an interview with FBI agents. Two sources familiar with the matter also previously told NBC News that Cole believed in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Cole was allegedly inspired to use pipe bombs by his interest in The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the sectarian war between Catholics and Protestants that escalated into violence in the 1970s. The violence, which included bombing attacks, went on for three decades. According to the government’s filing, Cole did not test the devices before planting them and they failed to go off as planned. “Ultimately, it was luck, not lack of effort, that the defendant failed to detonate one or both of his devices and that no one was killed or maimed due to his actions,” the government filing said. “Indeed, the defendant admitted that he set both devices to detonate 60 minutes after he placed them.” ...read more read less