Alleged pipe bomber’s father had large federal tax liens crippling bond company

The man charged with planting pipe bombs on Jan. 6, 2021 at the two major political party offices in Washington, D.C., has been tied to federal tax liens of approximately $350,000.

Brian J. Cole Jr. was charged this week with planting the pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democrat national headquarters during Jan. 6 protests at the U.S. Capitol.

Public records obtained by The Lion show several liens likely associated with the family’s bail bond business at the address Cole Jr. shares with his family.

A closer examination of the records makes clear that the debts almost certainly belong to his father, who shares the same name and long-term residential address. 

The liens reflect years of unresolved IRS action against the family business, which likely prevented the writing of bail bonds. 

Because bail bond companies deal in large cash transactions, they are often targets for extra scrutiny by the IRS and state regulators nationwide. 

Such long-running financial disputes can strain a household and generate deep resentment toward federal authorities, creating an environment in which hostility toward the government may take root even if the individual himself has no prior record. 

Cole Jr.’s public records show no prior offenses besides petty offenses involving the operation of motor vehicles. 

At present, the IRS actions remain the only verifiable federal conflict in Cole’s background and thus the only publicly identifiable factor that could intersect with potential motive so far. 

While the federal government has no responsibility to establish motive, motive is strong circumstantial evidence of criminal complicity. 

The federal liens, one as high as $266,586, cover tax years 2016-2017, 2014 and 2008-2013. 

The liens are all tied to the address Cole Jr. has lived at for more than a decade in Woodbridge, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. 

The earliest of these assessments show Cole Jr. would have been a minor at the time. 

Cole Sr. is known to have owned a bail bond company called Free At Last Bail Bonding in Tennessee and was previously involved in a legal conflict surrounding its operation and sale that’s been ongoing. 

Several media sources have cited the involvement of a well-known civil rights attorney, Benjamin Crump, in the case. 

Court records show the owners of Free At Last Bail Bonding, including Brian Cole Sr., attempted to transfer the business to Tennessee Bonding Company (TBC). 

The Tennessee courts found TBC was effectively controlled by the same principals, making the transaction resemble a straw-man purchase rather than a genuine sale. 

The company’s owners were cited for making false statements about bankruptcies, civil judgments, unpaid forfeitures and outstanding federal tax liens. 

TBC had already been suspended from writing bonds in multiple judicial districts, the court noted. 

In July 2025, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals denied the company bonding authority entirely, concluding it failed to meet basic financial responsibility and honesty requirements under state law. 

The court cited a pattern of undisclosed bankruptcies, unpaid bond forfeitures, outstanding federal tax liens, inconsistent or false sworn statements and prior suspensions in multiple judicial districts as evidence the company and its owners were neither financially sound nor truthful with regulators. 

The court filings can be used by other jurisdictions to prevent the writing of bail bonds. 

While the evidence is only circumstantial, federal tax problems appear to have triggered a cascading series of regulatory actions that ultimately prevented Cole Sr. from operating his business. 

It remains unclear, however, whether or to what extent this financial turmoil may have influenced the state of mind of Cole Jr. in the alleged bomb-planting case. 

Federal prosecutors have spelled out how they believed the bombs were planted, but have not yet discussed motive.