Ep 378 | Is Brian Cole a Patsy? | Guest: Steve Baker

Summary

Kibbe on Liberty Ep 378 | Is Brian Cole a Patsy?

Host: Matt Kibbe (A)
Guest: Steve Baker (C), investigative journalist
Date: March 25, 2026
Main Theme:
An in-depth, skeptical examination of the federal government’s case against Brian Cole, the alleged January 6th pipe bomber, with a particular focus on inconsistencies in the official narrative, the possibility that Cole is an innocent patsy, and the broader implications for justice and government transparency.

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Episode Overview

Matt Kibbe hosts investigative reporter Steve Baker to discuss the arrest and prosecution of Brian Cole—charged as the January 6th pipe bomber. They review significant holes in the government’s case, explore Cole’s personal profile and unique vulnerabilities, discuss the whistleblowers who question the official story, and consider broader concerns about federal law enforcement’s use of “patsies.” The episode is loaded with insights, granular investigation details, and a palpable skepticism about the integrity of the justice system.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Arrest and Profile of Brian Cole

• Recent Arrest and Timing:
  • Cole was arrested shortly before November 2025 ([01:53]).
• Who is Brian Cole?
  • “He's now 30. He would have been 25 January 6th. He is a highly functional autistic individual. Very, very severe OCD...” (Steve Baker, [03:58]).
  • Baker canvassed Cole’s neighborhood, uncovering years of habitual, quiet behavior—like visiting a 7-Eleven almost daily for 13 years, barely speaking to anyone ([04:10]).
  • Store owner:
    • “In 13 years, Brian Cole may have only ever said a total of three words to me in 13 years... when I saw who it was that was arrested in the news, I just looked at it and said, no effing way. There's no way that that's him.” ([05:10])
• FBI Whistleblower:
  • A new high-ranking, active FBI whistleblower was motivated to come forward by the “fantastical” story and arrest.
  • “He believes that the FBI went to its quote unquote, patsy file…” (Steve Baker, [03:30])

Critical Inconsistencies in the Government’s Narrative

• Evasion from Law Enforcement:
  • Kibbe: “Somehow this young man is such a mastermind... that he evaded, avoided the FBI for five years. How does that guy that you just described pull that off?" ([06:19])
  • Baker: “Well, he doesn't.” ([06:34])
• Alleged Route and Surveillance:
  • The government’s timeline contradicts itself; Cole supposedly used Google Maps to plant the bombs, but CCTV blind spots he utilized are not on Google Maps ([06:40]).
  • “We've been able to find Brian Cole's car. And the car is moving in a location that is over a mile away from where the hoodied bomber is walking at the same time.” (Baker, [08:44])
• Motive & Evidence Acquisition:
  • Allegedly angry about the 2020 election, Cole started buying bomb components in 2018. “The dates go all the way back to 2018. Okay, so there was no issues about a controversial election in 2018.” ([10:04])
  • FBI claims he voted for Trump, but records show an exclusively Democratic family ([10:40]).
  • Many of the components were actually purchased after January 6 ([11:11]).

The Confession & Forensic Oddities

• Confession under Duress:
  • Cole, autistic, confessed after over two hours of FBI interrogation, 20-minute break, “with no lawyer present,” and with his head on the desk ([11:54]).
  • Baker: “They Mirandized high functioning autistic person... never seen without his headphones, basically... that's his whoopee.” ([12:02])
• Behavioral Evidence:
  • Cole’s peculiar behaviors, like a need for headphones or a special pouch, and highly routinized habits, are observed across police cam footage ([12:45]).
• Physical Discrepancies:
  • Baker measured Cole’s gait and compared it to the FBI videos: “The hooded bomber has a very distinct, much more athletic walk, but with a slight right leg drag.... Absolutely the opposite of Brian Cole's gait.” ([16:36])
  • “As Armitas likes to say, Brian Cole's entire body is exculpatory. Or he says his entire body is an alibi...” ([17:10])
  • Cole holds his phone inches from his face; the hoodie bomber holds theirs two feet away, at night, possibly wearing sunglasses ([17:46]).

The “Patsy” Pattern in Law Enforcement

• A Familiar Profile:
  • Kibbe: “I'm getting a little bit exhausted with the government coming out and telling us about lone actors... It's someone that's sort of autistic, mental health issues, maybe... and yet again and again, this person outsmarts everybody and everything to accomplish [their plan].” ([19:21])
• Historical Parallels:
  • Baker cites the Atlanta Olympics bomber as a well-known patsy case ([20:11]).
  • Explains that isolated, disaffected young men are frequently targeted for set-ups or manipulation ([20:40]).
• Institutional Incentives:
  • Pressure to solve high-profile cases, from top FBI leadership, can result in hasty and error-prone prosecutions ([21:24]).

Status of the Case & DOJ’s Reluctance

• Why No Trial?
  • Baker contends DOJ is slow-walking the case because its weaknesses would be exposed in court ([23:13]).
  • “There is no way a DC Jury is going to convict an autistic young black man who does not fit the profile in any way, shape or form, with. So many holes in the FBI's case up to this point.” ([23:40])
  • Belief that DOJ is “waiting him out till he cracks,” to force a plea deal ([24:40]).
• Conditions for Cole:
  • Kibbe: “They're torturing the kid.” ([24:57])
  • Baker: “That's absolutely what I believe.” ([24:58])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Brian Cole’s Routine:

  • “For 13 years, that Brian Cole Jr. Has come into that 711 every day for 13 years wearing his headphones, purchasing two Coca Colas and a pizza.” (Steve Baker, [04:18])

• On the Government’s Narrative:

  • “Somehow he managed to park his car...where there were no CCTV cameras, he managed to appear out of nowhere... we're supposed to believe that.” (Baker, [06:45])

• On Investigative Methods:

  • “That's what we have to do in order to show the absurdities of what the FBI is presenting to us.” (Baker, [15:26])
  • Kibbe, teasing Baker: “You're a weirdo, by the way.” ([15:17])

• On Behavioral Contradictions:

  • “Brian Cole's entire body is exculpatory. Or he says his entire body is an alibi...” (Baker quoting Armitas, [17:10])
  • “A 25 year old with such a severe prescription is probably not going to hold the phone in his or her lap in the dark.” ([18:40])

• On Applying Pressure:

  • “They're torturing the kid.” (Kibbe, [24:57])
  • “That's absolutely what I believe.” (Baker, [24:58])

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Brian Cole’s Arrest and Profile: [01:50] – [06:01]
• Timeline and Surveillance Flaws: [06:01] – [09:00]
• Purchasing History, Motive Issues: [09:40] – [11:23]
• FBI Interrogation and Confession: [11:23] – [12:45]
• Gait, Behavior, and Physical Analysis: [13:34] – [18:43]
• Broader Patsy Pattern Discussion: [19:21] – [21:24]
• Why The DOJ Won’t Go to Trial: [22:37] – [24:57]
• Conditions and Fate of Brian Cole: [25:00] – [25:32]

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Further Information

• Steve Baker’s reporting:
  • theblaze.com
  • X/Twitter: @SteveBakerUSA ([25:39])

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This episode offers a meticulous, sometimes irreverent deep-dive into the cracks in the official story of the “pipe bomber”—capably blending forensic skepticism, empathetic reporting, and dark humor as Kibbe and Baker challenge the audience to demand accountability from federal law enforcement.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Kibbe on Liberty. Second of a marathon conversation with Steve Baker, this time about the alleged pipe bomber Brian Cole. Is he a patsy? Kind of looks that way. Check it out.

[B]

Welcome to kibbe on liberty.

[A]

Steve, it's been forever. It's been at least 10 seconds since we last talked. At least. So this is the second half of the mega episode. We talked about what President Trump called the discombobulator in the last episode. Got a little sci fi, a little conspiratorial. So let's keep up that tone. All right. You did a long conversation, I think, you know, well over an hour with Congressman Thomas Massie on behalf of Free the People in November of last year. Yeah. About the pipe bomber. January 6th pipe bomber. And Thomas was one of the first, at least in Congress, to raise substantial questions about the inaccuracies and incoherence of the government narrative about the pipe bomber. And had Brian Cole been arrested at that point in November of last year?

[C]

I believe he had just recently been arrested.

[A]

And I want to, like, I don't want to drop this issue. As you may know, Congressman Massie is preoccupied with a number of fights. Just he continues to fight for transparency in the Epstein files and has recently picked up the glyphate issue that the Trump administration reversed policy on. But I don't want this one to drop because to me, the case looks against the alleged pipe bomber. Brian Cole looks kind of fantastical. It doesn't add up to me and I'm not nearly as deep into it as you are. What's going on with Brian Cole?

[C]

It's hard for me to find a place to actually start because I am so immersed in it. In fact, I'm actually here in town right now because I'm going to a status hearing at the district courthouse tomorrow morning on Brian Cole. It'll be my first hearing since my own health episode to actually be able to attend. And that's probably going to stir some things up in and of itself. Just me being, being there, a brand new whistleblower that came forward specifically because of the pipe bomb story and the arrest of Brian Cole. So a new whistleblower from the FBI. Current FBI employee, rather high ranking. Been with them for quite some time. And I have been able to interview him. And exactly what he told me was, is that he believes that the FBI went to its quote unquote, patsy file. Now, that doesn't mean that there's an actual filing drawer with people to pull out in case of an emergency, but in concept and in theory, it's Something that's easily done and certainly has been done before. It's not like we haven't seen it done before.

[A]

Right, right. And the profile. Talk about Brian Cole's profile and why he would make a good patsy if that's true.

[C]

He's now 30. He would have been 25 January 6th. He is a highly functional autistic individual. Very, very severe ocd. I can give you another example. I've canvassed his neighborhood and I've spoken to not only his neighbors, but more Importantly, there's a 711 at the entrance into his neighborhood in Woodbridge, Virginia. And that particular 711 franchise store owner has owned that store for 13 years. And he told me face to face in an interview that for 13 years, that Brian Cole Jr. Has come into that 711 every day for 13 years wearing his headphones, purchasing two Coca Colas and a pizza. And I said, you've seen him every day for 13? He goes, well, he goes, I've seen him a minimum of two to three days a week. My other employees have seen him on the other days. But he said, I've watched him come in for 13 years, exact same habit. And he said, of course, I've seen the way he walks. I've seen the way he interacts with people. In fact, he doesn't interact with people. As a matter of fact, what he said, In 13 years, Brian Cole may have only ever said a total of three words to me in 13 years. And he said, when all the commotion happened in the neighborhood and then he saw who it was that was arrested in the news, he said, I just looked at it and said, no effing way. There's no way that that's him. Neighbors say, no way. A very intense and grand coincidence is that this whistleblower, this FBI whistleblower I referred to moments ago, the reason why he was so interested in this case and decided to risk his career, because we see what the FBI does to whistleblowers, right? Every federal agency, what they do to whistleblowers.

[A]

Including the Trump FBI.

[C]

Correct.

[A]

Hasn't gotten any better.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

Let's unwind some of the inconsistencies that make it unbelievable. The first obvious one is that somehow this young man is such a mastermind, if he is, in fact, guilty of this crime, somehow he is such a mastermind of obscuring his identity and his whereabouts that he evaded, avoided the FBI for five years. How does that guy that you just described pull that off?

[C]

Well, he doesn't. But let's go back to the night of January 5th. And what he did, allegedly what he did, somehow he entered the District from his home in Woodbridge, Virginia was by his own testimony, according to the the FBI. What he says that he told them during his four hour interrogation was that he learned his route about how to plant the bomb at the RNC and the DNC by consulting Google Maps. All right, okay, great. Guess what Google Maps does not have. Does not have the location of the Capitol CCTV cameras. Yet somehow he managed to park his car, if he in fact parked his car at Folger park where there were no CCTV cameras, he managed to appear out of nowhere. He then managed to an hour ish later, disappear into nowhere through a secret hidden gate in an alleyway behind the rnc. That's not on Google Maps. But he knew it existed. And we're supposed to believe that. And then it begins and then it starts breaking down from there because we have taken the actual times and cell phone tower pings that the FBI has released to us and said these are when his phone pinged on our cell phone towers in the area. And we've been able to vector all of those, get the azimuth, as they say, from all of these cell phone towers. And many of these pings happen outside of the vectors that can happen. But the most important thing is, is that we have, and when I say we myself, Johanneman, a private video sleuth that we don't name for security reasons, who goes by the name online of Armitas. And with our intense review of capital CCTV cameras and our unique access that we've had to those, we've been able to find Brian Cole's car. And the car is moving in a location that is over a mile away from where the hoodied bomber is walking at the same time.

[A]

Seems pretty airtight.

[C]

Maybe he wasn't driving the car. Maybe that was his accomplice and his accomplice was just driving around. Yeah, while he was dropping the bombs. That's what they'll say.

[A]

Thank you for joining me today on

[B]

Kibbe on Liberty and for being part of our fiercely independent audience. Every week my organization, Free the People partners with BlazeTV to bring you this show. My guests bring smart perspectives on everything from current events to timeless philosophical debates. If you like what you hear, go to freethepeople.org kol and support Kibbe on Liberty so we can continue to produce these honest conversations with interesting people. Now let's get back to it.

[A]

The other thing as I recall and you can fill in these blanks, but the other thing that is kind of confounding is that this accused pipe bomber was allegedly angry about the election, but he started acquiring these materials that are evidence against him long before the election.

[C]

Yeah, Armitas has actually done a spreadsheet of the information that the FBI has released on that, particularly the acquisition of these materials, the purchasing history and records, the dates. The FBI has provided us the dates. The dates go all the way back to 2018. Okay, so there was no issues about a controversial election in 2018. Variously, he's been described as either apolitical, non political, or that he voted for Trump twice. But he comes from a family. We've been able to pull up their voting records. Who's never voted anything but Democrat for their entire lives. And then of course, we also know from his Internet history that he is a Brony. He is a male person obsessed with My Little Pony. Not exactly stereotypical bomber, pipe bomber or guy that builds bombs. But not only did the beginning of this purchase history happen in 2018, but many of the essential components used to construct those bombs that were placed allegedly by him on January 5 were purchased after that date.

[A]

Doesn't quite add up.

[C]

Doesn't add up. And the FBI story continues to fall apart from there. Now, they did get a confession from him, so we have to address that. We can't ignore that. They interviewed this autistic young man for. For two hours intensely. And then they took a break, a 20 minute break. And when they came back, they said his head was on the desk, the table, and when he lifted his head, he started confessing to everything. The type of technique did he.

[A]

With no lawyer present.

[C]

Right, with no lawyer present, that's correct. By the FBI's own admission that he had no lawyer present as well. So they Mirandized high functioning autistic person. And interestingly, talking about his ocd, he's never seen without his headphones, basically. And even in his mugshot, they allowed him to wear his headphones around his neck. It's like five minutes to Wapner Rain Man. Yeah, he's got a particular routine. Probably had. They. And they probably did try to extract. Take those headphones off. And he probably lost it emotionally, physically. And they're like, okay, they put him back because that's his whoopee.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Even in the 48 minute traffic accident video that we were able to acquire, we were able to FOIA this from the Woodbridge or Fairfax, whatever county it is, police department, and we were able to get that video. And he is. He never takes his. He's not wearing the headphones, but he has a very unique and specific pouch that contains the earbuds. It's a very famous gamer style earbuds that he also has his keychain hanging and he's clutching this the whole time during that traffic stop.

[A]

Yeah, it's like, I guess it's a police camera of a traffic stop. Correct. Involving Brian Cole body cam. Right.

[C]

48 minutes of body cam of that.

[A]

Let's talk about his unique gait. You mentioned that. And is there video of actual Bryan Cole actually walking? Yes. Part of it, I think, is in this traffic stop.

[C]

Right. One of the things that I was doing two days, well, the day after that particular party that we have referenced before, the very next day, I was measuring. I was out with a tape measure, measuring where he was and where his feet were, where he was standing. I'm talking about the exact square foot of where he was standing during that traffic spot stop in Woodbridge where he had a little minor fender bender. Then I was down at the DNC measuring the exact concrete blocks that the hooded bomber had traversed on the evening of the fifth. Then I was in the alley behind the rnc. Again using the exact videos that the FBI released. Even those stop action frame, reduced frame rate, reduced videos at the rnc. Or that the FBI released at least when.

[A]

When.

[C]

Although they look like stop, stop action cartoons, when you reduce it down to one frame per second, you still get a foot that comes into clarity on a particular brick. And I was able to measure those bricks, went straight to that exact spot. I did that on the Friday and the Saturday, which were the two days before my heart failure. That's what I was doing, measuring these things.

[A]

You're a weirdo, by the way.

[C]

It's just old school, you know.

[A]

Yeah, it's old fashioned shoe leather investigation.

[C]

Yeah, they call it gumshoe investigation. That's what it is. And that's what we have to do in order to show the absurdities of what the FBI is presenting to us. And so we have spent a tremendous, tremendous amount of time on the gate comparison between the hoodie bomber and Brian Cole and the limited amount of walking video that we have of Cole he has, and this is the way his neighbors all describe him, is he kind of has a waddle and his feet are out and apart like this. The hooded bomber has a very distinct, much more athletic walk, but with a slight right leg drag. And then also the more tired the bomber seems to be, and particularly even on an incline is there's a pigeon toed crossover of the right foot in front of the left foot. That's very, very distinct. Absolutely the opposite of Brian Cole's gait. But as Armitas likes to say, Brian Cole's entire body is exculpatory. Or he says his entire body is an alibi because the neck length, his chin to shoulder length is much greater than the hooded bomber. The shoe size is, foot size is different, which is why I was measuring the bricks and the, you know, the concrete blocks outside the DNC. Another very, very highly interesting characteristic is from that 48 minute police body cam video. We have a tremendous amount of video of Brian Cole Jr. Looking at his phone. And he always holds his phone six to eight inches from his eyes while he's reading it. And that's with a rather severe eyeglass prescription. He holds it right here. When the hoodie bomber goes to the DNC bench for the first time, the first time the hoodie bomber goes to the dentist bench, he or she does not replace the bomb at that moment, gets up, leaves, comes back. The first time that the hoodie bomber sits at the bench,

[A]

they pull the

[C]

phone out, back pocket, right pocket, and the phone is two feet from their eyes in their lap. That's with what we believe are sunglasses on at night in the dark. I showed this, I showed a collage of that photography side by side photography of Brian Cole and the hoodie bomber to my own ophthalmologist. I had an appointment recently to update my own prescription and I showed it to her and of course, you know, she's gonna be very coy. She goes, well, I'm not going to give a diagnosis without actually an examination. I said, yeah, but she said, yes, you're right. A 25 year old with such a severe prescription is probably not going to hold the phone in his or her lap in the dark.

[B]

If you made it this far into the show, it means I must be doing something right. Key Beyond Liberty is just one of the amazing products we created. Free the people. We tell emotionally compelling stories and produce educational videos for the Liberty Curious. Our award winning documentaries personalize all things liberty. Independence, creativity, hard work, integrity and perseverance. After the show, check out our [e-mail] and if you like what you see, donate to support what we do. That's freethepeople.org now back to the show.

[A]

So let's talk about the patsy profile because this, I'm getting a little bit exhausted with the government coming out and telling us about lone actors and typically maybe it's a Furry. Maybe it's a Brony. It's someone that's sort of autistic, mental health issues, maybe. And yet again and again, this person outsmarts everybody and everything to accomplish that. There is a long history of patsies being used and then that being exposed. Can you think of any examples that might draw a comparison to where we are with Brian Cole, the Atlanta bomber,

[C]

you know, Olympic bomber, obvious. First one that pops into everybody's mind. The FBI was absolutely convinced of that for how, I mean, God, how long, how many months they go by standing firmly on that story and. And then finally they discovered who the real bomber was. The. The thing about whether we're talking about a patsy or we're talking about somebody groomed by our intelligence and Special Forces operatives overseas or even domestically, Brian Cole is that disaffected, lonely, isolated young men are very easy recruits to be used either operationally as weapons or as patsies when needed. The patsy file. And I've had that. Again, I've had those stories relayed to me from our sources in the intelligence community many times that this is something that is actively done overseas and likely done here as well.

[A]

Let's take the most benign interpretation and work on that for a minute because it may be Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, FBI Director, and I forget Dan Bongino's title at the time, Deputy Deputy Director, rushed out and immediately declared that they had gotten their guy. Is part of it just pressure on the FBI to solve a case is. Could you just chalk up these inconsistencies to like, we have to get somebody because there's a lot of pressure on us?

[C]

Yes, it does seem to be an immediate reaction. This was one of the things that the whistleblower very specifically talked about. This is the FBI employee, agent, high ranking, current employee of the FBI, who says it's not him, cannot be him. And who was the one who uttered the phrase they went to their patsy file. It set in motion a lot of things that are not coincidental.

[A]

And I would refer people to the conversation you had with Thomas Massie for more information on all of that. Specifically, a final question. And this in some ways seems the most outrageous to me. It seems that Brian Cole, the FBI, doesn't want to bring Brian Cole to trial. They're slow walking this thing. And I think you've just spent the last half hour punching holes in the case that they have against Brian Cole. Why can't he get a day in court?

[C]

I don't believe that the DOJ wants this to go to trial. First of all, they cannot win this trial in front of a DC Jury. They cannot. Everybody goes, oh, no, no, no DC Jury. They can be fixed. They can be bought. You can get the judge colluding with the doj, blah, blah, blah. All that can happen. We saw it all in the January 6th trials. Let me tell you what else we saw in the January 6th trial. We saw a bunch of Oath Keepers convicted of seditious conspiracy. There's three separate Oath Keeper trials, and then there were a couple of Oath Keeper trials of individuals that had been tried separately that were also Oath Keepers. Only two Oath Keepers were completely acquitted of their accused crimes. Oath Keepers, the worst of the bunch that day. They were the tip of the spear, the government told us, in terms of attacking Congress and wanting to stop the certification of the election. But two of them were acquitted. And there is no way a DC Jury is going to convict an autistic young black man who does not fit the profile in any way, shape, or form. With. So many holes in the FBI's case up to this point. And I believe that the reason why he has not been given pretrial release to be out on bond is that they're trying to use his autism against him. They're basically waiting him out till he cracks, and then they can get the family to agree to a plea deal of some sort, and then they get their guilty verdict, case closed, done.

[A]

They're torturing the kid.

[C]

That's absolutely what I believe.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Because he's certainly not in the general population. He does not interact with people anyway. We know that from multiple testimonies, including his own family. And he's certainly going to be in isolated custody of some sort, you know, and as a result of that, probably doesn't have all of his little things that he needs to, you know, accomplish the five minutes to Wapner mentality that he has. And so they're torturing him. And I'll see him tomorrow morning.

[A]

Okay. We did this already, but let's do it again. Where do people find you reporting on the subject?

[C]

TheBlaze.com or they can follow me daily on X@SteveBaker USA.

[A]

Okay. And you are not emotionally damaged or suicidal?

[C]

No, not. Not in the least.

[A]

All right, thank you, Steve. We'll get more trouble later.

[C]

Thank you, Matt.

[B]

Thanks for watching. If you liked the conversation, make sure to like the video, subscribe and also ring the bell for notifications. And if you want to know more about Free the people, go to freethepeople.org

[A]

sa.