What was the Capitol Hill pipe bomber case? FBI announces $500,000 reward to solve Jan. 5 incident

Two years after the Capitol riots, federal investigators increased the reward for information on the person responsible for leaving two pipe bombs near the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) building on January 5, 2021.

On Wednesday, January 4, 2023, the FBI offered $500,000, in exchange for information on the individual who left two pipe bombs near the Capitol, a day before an angry mob attacked the building on January 6, 2021.

Law enforcement had previously offered a $100000 reward to help identify the person who left the devices outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill. However, authorities have been unable to find the man responsible for placing the bomb.

In a press release, the FBI said that on January 5, 2021, a masked suspect wearing a hooded sweatshirt and hand gloves carrying a backpack planted pipe bombs near the DNC and RNC buildings. While the bombs, found the next day, did not detonate, officials said the active bombs could have seriously injured or killed innocent civilians.

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A suspect carrying a pipe bomb spotted near the Capitol building on video

On January 5, 2021, less than twenty-four hours before an angry mob attacked the Capitol building, a masked individual wearing a hooded sweatshirt, hand gloves, and carrying a backpack around the neighborhood was spotted on surveillance video.

The FBI has released a video showing the unidentified person walking around the neighborhood that evening before leaving two pipe bombs at the RNC and DNC building. The FBI estimated that the suspect planted the bombs between approximately 7:30 and 8:30 pm.

Authorities also increased the reward to $500000 for any information on the suspect responsible for the bomb threat. The threat reportedly urged law enforcement to evacuate President-elect Kamala Harris from the DNC headquarters when one of the pipe bombs was unearthed on the day of the riot near that location. In a press release on Wednesday, the FBI said:

"In raising the reward for information about the pipe bomb suspect from $100,000 to as much as $500,000, the FBI and our partners are seeking to encourage the American public to take a fresh look at our Seeking Information website, which includes images and video of the suspect, the suspect’s backpack, the suspect’s shoes, the explosive devices, and a map of the route the suspect walked the night the pipe bombs were placed.”

The FBI added that while the bombs did not detonate, they could have seriously injured bystanders in the area had they gone off.

The FBI has so far apprehended over 800 people in the Capitol riot and is reportedly working with ATF and U.S. Capitol Police. They have conducted thousands of interviews and amassed over 20,000 pieces of evidence to unmask the suspect responsible for the pipe bombs.