Parents of Alleged J6 Pipe Bomber Say the Government Is Framing Their Son

The Tucker Carlson Show

The Tucker Carlson Show features the parents of Brian Cole Jr., an autistic man with no criminal record who is accused of planting pipe bomb

Key takeaways

• The Cole family describes an unexplained FBI raid with excessive force, including armed agents and the detention of multiple family members, despite no evidence linking Brian to any crime.
• Brian Cole Jr. is described as autistic, non-violent, and deeply integrated into his family's bail bonds business—where firearms are legally permitted—but has no history of criminal behavior or extremist ties.

Main topics

• Wrongful arrest
• Government overreach

Notable quotes

They had already arrested him by the time they did all this fanfare.

This is a travesty. This is horrible.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with the Cole parents expressing profound grief and

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:04) Thank you all for doing this. I first heard about this case almost immediately from someone in the U.S. government who called me and said, this is the Netflix story that you don't think could actually be real where the U.S. government arrests someone for a grave crime knowing that he didn't commit it. So I was going to say out up front what I think and what informed people in the U.S. government think. So I want to frame the conversation around that. Again, thank you. Let's start. with Brian Cole Sr., where were you, how did you find out your son had been arrested? Speaker 5 (0:37) Well, I was in a hotel in Alabama. I was traveling, working, and a DOJ officer, FBI agent, gave me a call. And he started asking, he was asking me a few questions, and he was informing me that, you know, they had picked up my son. So, you know, prior to that, it was about 6 a.m. in the morning, and I was looking at Speaker 5 (1:03) and looking at the news and, you know, they were talking about they were making an arrest on the J6 pipe bomber. And maybe 30 minutes later, I get the phone call. Did they say who it was? They didn't say who it was when I, the initial. Speaker 2 (1:24) The report you were watching. Report that Speaker 5 (1:25) I was watching. They didn't say who it was. They said he was in the process of making an arrest. Speaker 5 (1:31) And then like 30 minutes later, I get a call. Did Speaker 2 (1:33) you think, I wonder if that's my son? Speaker 5 (1:35) No, never in a million years. No, absolutely not. And they called and I was talking to him and he stated that he was, I couldn't remember his name, but he was with the FBI. And they picked up my son and I didn't grasp it for a second because it was so early in the morning. Speaker 5 (2:01) As he was talking to me, the news went on and I can see. Speaker 5 (2:06) you know, they mentioned the name. And when they mentioned the name, I said, man, you mean to tell me you're on the phone telling me that the person they're talking about on TV is my son? And he was like, yes, you know what I mean? And he was like, they already reporting on the news? I said, yeah, it's all over the news right now. And then from there, wasn't even 20 seconds later, I started getting phone calls from reporters. And that's how I found out. What did you think? Speaker 5 (2:34) You know, in a situation like that, Tucker, man, it was so many things running through your mind because you're wondering what's going on. Like, you know, it's hard to explain. You don't, to wake up to something like that six or seven o'clock in the morning and someone telling you that your son has just been picked up. He's this infamous person. You don't know what to think. You really don't. I don't, I didn't know what was going on. So the first thing I tried to do was try to get in contact with his mother. Speaker 5 (3:08) And we were all unsuccessful. And then my kids started calling them because each one of them, they made contact with each one of them in person. Speaker 5 (3:22) And then that's when we went to the ring cam and we saw what was going on. We saw actually what was going on. And that's why we knew we couldn't get in contact with her because they raided the house and took her out the house. And you Speaker 2 (3:39) were at home when the raid began? Speaker 4 (3:41) Yes, my grandson and I. Speaker 2 (3:43) Your grandson. Tell us what happened. Speaker 4 (3:46) So I woke up, I guess, around eight. And around 8.15 or so, I heard a siren. So I'm thinking, you know, my elderly neighbor across the street that something was wrong. So I'm like, oh, well, you know, I hope Grams Speaker 2 (4:01) is Speaker 4 (4:01) okay. Speaker 2 (4:02) Can I say for people who don't know, since I do know, you live in a cul-de-sac in a suburban neighborhood. Yes. You don't have a lot of sirens in your Speaker 4 (4:09) neighborhood. No. And I'm like, wow, you know, because she's elderly. And next thing you hear is, come out with your hands up. This is the FBI. I get up out of the bed and I go look out my window and the cul-de-sac is filled. You have three different trucks with. Speaker 4 (4:35) I don't know if they're rams or machine guns pointed towards my house. You have cars in the cul-de-sac. You have gunmen with rifles all behind the trucks and behind the trees. With Speaker 2 (4:51) rifles? You could see rifles? Speaker 4 (4:53) Facing the house. So I get dressed. I go wake my grandson up and tell him the FBI is outside. Sorry to laugh. You Speaker 3 (5:01) got Speaker 4 (5:01) to get Speaker 5 (5:02) dressed and come on outside. Speaker 4 (5:04) I said, don't take forever. So I get up and I go outside and they tell me to come towards them. And as soon as I got to them, they took my phone and they handcuffed me and put me in the truck. And then my grandson came out a few minutes later. They handcuffed you? Yes, they handcuffed me and put me in a truck. My grandson came out a few minutes later. They grabbed his phone from him, handcuffed him and put him in a truck. How old Speaker 5 (5:32) is your grandson? My Speaker 4 (5:33) grandson is 17. Speaker 5 (5:34) He was 16 then though. He was 16. Speaker 4 (5:37) Yeah, well, he was about to turn 17 because he turned 17 on the 14th. And I told them, you know, be careful because my son is still in the house because I hadn't gotten to his room to tell him. And so, you know, and we're, you know, just sitting there. I'm like, you know, what's happening? What's going on? I don't. Did Speaker 2 (5:57) they tell you why they were handcuffing you? Not Speaker 4 (5:59) at the beginning. No. They just said, we'll tell you in a few. Speaker 2 (6:02) So Speaker 4 (6:02) you Speaker 2 (6:02) wake up from a dead sleep to sirens. You look out the window and there are men with rifles aiming at your house. Yes. Come out with your hands up. You have no idea what's going on. None. Speaker 4 (6:12) None. Speaker 2 (6:14) And no one explains to you why they're handcuffing you and putting you in the back of a car? No. And Speaker 4 (6:18) again, you know, you have to realize because of what we do for a living, you know, there's a lot on the line if we don't do what we're supposed to do. So Speaker 2 (6:29) I should say that you all run a family business with a big extended family, including your son, Brian Cole Jr., who worked there. Speaker 4 (6:36) Yes. Speaker 2 (6:36) The bail bonds business. You've had it for a long time, kind of multi-generational. And it's a... Pretty big business, I think. Speaker 1 (6:44) Yes. Speaker 2 (6:45) And you're licensed in Speaker 1 (6:47) order Speaker 2 (6:47) to run that business, including to carry firearms because it's bail bonds, right? It's like sort of a subset of law enforcement. Speaker 4 (6:52) Yes. Speaker 2 (6:53) And so I just want to give context for people who don't Speaker 4 (6:56) know. No, you explained it well. Speaker 2 (6:58) And so you're handcuffed in the back of a car. Then you see your grandson handcuffed, teenage grandson. What are you thinking? Speaker 4 (7:09) What the hell? Can I say who? Speaker 2 (7:11) Oh, yes, ma'am. Speaker 4 (7:12) So I'm like, what the hell? You know, what is what is all of this? You know, because, you know, we are a nice, boring family. So I don't understand where all this is coming from. And, you know, so they they they come and then they just tell me some people are going to come talk to you. I'm like, what the world? And I'm not paying attention at the time this passing that Brian hasn't, you know, joined us. And so, you know, and then I start, as a grandmother would, start getting on my grandson like, you're supposed to be in school. So I'm paying attention, fussing at him. I'm starting to laugh. This is so crazy. And then all of a sudden he said they cleared the house and he said, OK, we're going to go in and they're going to tell you. But your son, Brian, has been arrested as the J6 bomber. And you go blank because you hear what they're saying. Speaker 4 (8:14) But because it's Brian, you're like, no, you most definitely got the wrong person. This cannot, no, this is not Pharrell. And he was like, yeah, we arrested him and he is downtown at headquarters already. Now, mind you, he, we, and as he said, we went back and looked at the ring camera. He left the house about six something, almost seven o'clock. So they had already, had him by time they did all this fanfare. Wait, if they'd already Speaker 2 (8:46) arrested your son, who they claim was a suspect in this attempted bombing, why were they pointing rifles at you and handcuffing you? Were you ever charged with a crime? Speaker 4 (8:57) No, no. And that was one of their questions. They continuously asked us, you know, did we know anything about this? Did we know anything about this? Well, no. You know, no matter how many times we told them no, they would, you know, ask the questions and come back to that same question. Speaker 2 (9:14) So it's three in the afternoon. You've had your coffee, but you're still staring blankly at your screen, rereading the same line, waiting for energy because you're just enervated. It's the afternoon slump. And that's why we're excited to partner with Trumi. So Trumi makes gummy supplements made of mushrooms. I know it sounds like the spooky ones, but these are not. the mushrooms you're thinking of. These are the ones you put in your soup, the legal ones. 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Get 20 % off with code TCN20. trumi.com slash tucker trumi is by the way t-r-o-o-m-y dot com slash tucker is that part so you all work obviously with law enforcement and the the legal system every day that's your job is arresting the fam is handcuffing the family members typically part of an arrest not for us not for us not at all no no is that two different kinds happen in america like why would you handcuff the family members i Speaker 4 (10:57) know right I have no idea. At all. Because, I mean, again, we're not used to this. We're not on that side to have a clear understanding of everything that they do. Speaker 4 (11:13) I was calm because I wanted to make sure my grandsons stay calm. And then once they got us in the house, then they unhandcuffed us. Speaker 2 (11:24) Do they apologize for handcuffing you? No. They handcuff a grandmother who's not been charged with anything. Correct. And they don't apologize. No. And the grandson. Speaker 2 (11:38) Okay. Then what happened? Speaker 4 (11:41) So I don't know how long they discussed, and it just seemed like this army of people started coming through the door. I mean, they were home. Speaker 2 (11:54) Yes, Speaker 4 (11:54) they were like all over. So my grandson and I, they had us in the living room because they set up in the dining room to use the table in the dining room to do their reporting or whatever they do. And so there were two agents speaking to my grandson and I in the living room. And I was like, you know, can we get him to school? He needs to go to school because he wanted to play in his basketball game. And I wanted to make sure, although this is a crazy life-turning ordeal, I wanted to try to keep it as normal as possible for him. And so they were fine with that. They took him upstairs, let him get dressed, and then they took him to school. Now, from my understanding, later on, they talked to him in the car. I don't know how they questioned him or what they said, but they talked to him in the car, even though before we got out of the truck, I asked one of the SWAT members, don't talk to my grandson. Don't ask him any questions. If you have anything to say, you ask me. So outside of that, I don't know what they discussed with him. You know, and of course, teenagers are always vague. You know, he just asked me, you know, did I know anything about this? And did I know anything that Brian did? And a phone number. That's about it. But, you know, they made sure he got to school. They followed him to make sure nobody was following him to school. And that was it. Speaker 5 (13:40) Yeah, and his phone number. I mean, they asked. every single one of us about this specific phone number for some reason. Speaker 4 (13:47) Yeah. Speaker 5 (13:48) You know, even over the phone. And I'm not going to say my dealings with the agent that called me, very professional. He was very polite on the phone. They Speaker 4 (13:59) were. Speaker 5 (13:59) Very professional, very polite. You know, he asked me about a phone number, asked me to key the phone number in my phone and did it come up with anything? You know, told him no. But I don't know, whatever this phone number, they were all... They were very interested in that one particular phone number for some reason. And, you know, they didn't tell us why. They Speaker 2 (14:19) asked both of you about this one specific phone Speaker 5 (14:21) number? Speaker 2 (14:21) All Speaker 4 (14:21) of Speaker 5 (14:21) us. All of us. My kids said the same thing. Everybody. Speaker 2 (14:25) And did anyone have the phone number in his or her phone? Speaker 4 (14:28) No. No. No. Speaker 2 (14:30) Huh. Do you have any idea what that was about? Speaker 4 (14:32) No. Speaker 2 (14:33) No. Speaker 2 (14:35) So what happened to your son? I mean, when did you find out exactly what the charges were and where he was? Speaker 4 (14:43) So we didn't find out exactly where he was or what the charges were until our attorney. Speaker 5 (14:53) Well, what happened? First thing, you know, of course, the first thing we wanted to do is once we realized the magnitude of what was going on in the county, we started comprehending. I notified. my attorney, I dealt with John Shorman for many, many years. So I got in contact with him