The case against the man arrested for planting pipe bombs before the January 6th riot looks shaky, which is bad news for public trust in the FBI.

• Brian Cole Jr. was arrested five years after the bombs were found outside the Republican and Democratic party headquarters in Washington.
• His confession came only after hours of denial under FBI questioning, and he is autistic — a group known to confess falsely under pressure.
• No motive has been offered: he was described as apolitical, lived with his parents, and supposedly bought bomb materials years before the 2020 election.
• The government's own account is contradictory, saying he was angry about election fraud yet also planted a bomb at the Republican headquarters.
• An earlier right-wing theory blaming a former Capitol Police officer collapsed — the story was retracted and she won a defamation case.

Outlook: The case heads toward trial with the weak public evidence likely to keep fueling suspicion that the real bomber was never found.