The FBI believes the pipe bombs placed outside of the Democratic and Republican party headquarters in Washington, D.C., were staged on Jan. 5, the night before the attempted insurrection at the Capitol.
On Jan. 6, U.S. Capitol Police responded to multiple reports of what appeared to be two separate pipe bombs at approximately 1 p.m. Both devices were disabled and turned over to the FBI, an USCP release said. A $50,000 reward was initially offered by the FBI for information about the incident. The reward has since doubled to $100,000 and new information has been released about the suspect.
The FBI announced Friday that the bombs were staged the day before the riots at the Capitol, between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The individual who staged the devices wore a face mask and a grey hooded sweatshirt. More specifically, the FBI said the suspect was wearing Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes; yellow, black and grey in color. He or she also had a backpack.
While sweeping for additional explosives after finding the two pipe bombs, law enforcement came across a what appeared to be firearm in a red pickup truck, registered in Alabama to a Lonnie L. Coffman, a Department of Justice statement said.
Capitol Police Bomb Squad members searched the vehicle and found: one handgun; one M4 Carbine assault rifle, accompanied with loaded magazines; and components for 11 "Molotov Cocktails" — mason jars filled with flammable liquids, rags and lighters.
The next day, 70-year-old Lonnie Leroy Coffman of Falkville, Ala., was arrested on charges of carrying a pistol without a license and unlawful possession of a destructive device.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.