Southeast
FBI’s renewed push in DC pipe bomb case shows how fresh eyes can change a stalled investigation
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Federal agents searching the Virginia home of Brian Cole Jr., accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021, carried out a step-by-step operation this week that indicated investigators have re-energized a case that had seen little movement for years.
Cole was arrested in Woodbridge, Virginia, last week after federal investigators identified him as the suspect accused of planting the pipe bombs on Jan. 5, 2021, near the Capitol complex, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). His arrest marked the first major break in a case that had been largely dormant for years.
Retired FBI Special Agent Jason Pack, who previously helped lead Evidence Response Teams, told Fox News Digital the search followed the standard sequence used in explosive investigations, beginning with hazard clearing before evidence work. He said the careful pace shows investigators treating the case as if it had just happened.
The operation began with the standard safety sweep used in federal explosives investigations.
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Brian J. Cole was arrested by the FBI for alleged involvement in the D.C. pipe bomb incident. (Department of Justice)
“Federal agents are following a deliberate and familiar sequence as the search of the Woodbridge residence continues,” Pack said. “The presence of explosive ordnance disposal technicians, bomb techs and specialized K-9 teams indicates that the first priority is safety.”
He explained that investigators must first clear the property of possible explosive hazards to protect personnel and preserve the scene before they can begin collecting evidence.
One of the clearest indications of the work underway came from the metal paint cans agents carried out of the home.
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The FBI is carrying out “court enforced activity” at a home in Woodbridge, Va., after authorities arrested a suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs blocks from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021, sources told Fox News on Dec. 4, 2025. (WTTG)
Pack said metal paint cans are a preferred method for collecting and transporting suspected explosive material because they limit contamination and protect volatile samples. The cans also allow forensic laboratories to analyze residues, components and chemical signatures that might connect a device to a specific individual or technique.
Once the scene is declared safe, evidence teams can move inside the home.
FBI Evidence Response Team members, guided by a federal search warrant and its attachments, typically handle the next phase of the search and use those documents to determine what they are authorized to seize.
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The FBI swarmed the home following the suspect’s arrest. (WTTG)
Those categories include explosive components or precursor chemicals; tools or materials used to construct destructive devices; electronic devices such as phones, hard drives and laptops; records, notes or digital communications that could show planning, motive or knowledge; and items that confirm identity, occupancy or control of the residence.
In this investigation, agents are looking for evidence that establishes intent, capability and any links to the explosive devices planted on Jan. 5, 2021.
Once the evidence is collected, it moves into the long analytical phase of the investigation.
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Sketch of Brian Cole Jr.’s first federal court appearance in Washington, D.C. Friday, December 5, 2025. Cole is the lead suspect in the D.C. pipe incident. (Dana Verkouteren)
Any electronics seized will undergo digital forensics to recover communications, searches or location data that may reveal planning or coordination. Laboratories will also examine residues or components to determine whether they match the devices used at the Capitol complex, the RNC or the DNC.
Pack said the search in Woodbridge shows the FBI is treating the investigation as if it had just begun, which he said can “change the entire trajectory” of the case.
“I have been the fresh set of eyes on cold cases, and I worked them as if the crime happened that morning,” he said. “The initial investigators often do excellent work. A new perspective simply asks different questions and sometimes spots the detail that finally brings the guilty to justice.”
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The suspect is seen walking outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters moments before placing one of two pipe bombs discovered near party offices in Washington, D.C. (FBI)
Pack said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for obtaining the warrants and court orders that move an investigation from suspicion to proof.
“When the immediate danger has passed, older cases often end up folded into the stack of files handled by overworked Assistant United States Attorneys who are already juggling emergencies of their own,” he said. “That can slow down warrants and subpoenas, not because anyone is dragging their feet, but because they are drowning in urgent matters.”
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The same pressures hit FBI agents, Pack said, as new threats emerge each day and older cases get pushed back while “investigators run to the sound of guns.”
“There are only 12,000 FBI agents in the world, and that small group is responsible for handling every threat that comes our way,” Pack said. “When leadership pours fresh resources back into a case, the whole machine turns forward again. Sunlight finds what shadows hide, and a second look often makes all the difference.”
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Cole had his first court appearance Friday after being arrested the day before and charged with transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce and with maliciously attempting to destroy property using explosive materials.
He has been speaking with investigators and reportedly admitted to planting the devices and expressing doubts about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, a source close to the investigation told Fox News.
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Southeast
Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges
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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)
Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day.
He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later.
Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing.
A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding.
In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported.
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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”
“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said.
“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”
Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia. (Provided)
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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person.
“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states.
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Southeast
Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’
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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.
The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.
The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.
The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”
Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.
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DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.
The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.
The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.
Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)
“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”
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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.
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Southeast
Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work
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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.
Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.
During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.
Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )
“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”
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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)
Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.
His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.
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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.
Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.
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