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After nearly five years of conspiracy theories, the FBI arrested Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old Virginia bail bondsman, on Tuesday for planting pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC headquarters on January 5, 2021, the night before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt the 2020 presidential election certification. Reports have linked the suspect to “extremist” ideology, but little is known about his motivations. Yet, he’s not an FBI insider. The arrest deflates years of "false flag" theories that sought to cast January 6 defendants (now all pardoned by Trump) as the victims of a deep state setup and federal agents as the real villains instead of the mob who attacked law enforcement officers. The evidence that identified Cole was collected in 2021 and 2022. No new tips, no dramatic breakthrough—just methodical police work that conspiracy theorists spent years dismissing as a cover-up.
Dan Bongino ⬇
In November 2024, the conspiracy-peddling pro-Trump podcaster called the pipe bombing case "a massive cover-up" and "an inside job,” adding, “This was a setup. I have zero doubt." In March 2025, while his nomination to the FBI was being considered, Senate Democrats demanded he either substantiate those claims or "apologize to the men and women of the FBI for spreading this dangerous and irresponsible lie." He never responded. On Tuesday, as the FBI deputy director announced the arrest, he declared: "We were going to track this person to the end of the earth." The real inside job? Pushing those conspiracy theories is part of what got him hired in the first place.
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Steven D'Antuono ⬆
As FBI Washington Field Office head from 2020 to 2022, he oversaw the effort that collected the credit card receipts, shoe store subpoenas, and phone data used to identify Cole. Republicans accused him of leading a cover-up. Representative Thomas Massie called FBI management “either incompetent or complicit.” But Tuesday’s arrest showed the evidence his team gathered had cracked the case. The only thing covered up all these years was how solid his investigation actually was.
Steve Baker ⬇
On November 8, the pardoned January 6 defendant and Blaze reporter published a story naming a former Capitol Police officer as the pipe bomber. He claimed he had uncovered "the biggest scandal and conspiracy in American history." Glenn Beck hyped it as “the biggest scandal of my lifetime, maybe in the last hundred years.” An X post touting the scoop got 15 million views. Three weeks later, the FBI arrested a completely different person. When your bombshell investigation bombs, at least you get to keep your presidential pardon.
Shauni Kerkhoff ⬆
The former Capitol Police officer was named by The Blaze based on a "forensic match" of her gait while playing soccer. They published her high school soccer record, her Boston Marathon time, even her Rubik's Cube solve speed—everything except actual evidence. She cleared herself by providing the FBI with video showing her playing with her puppies at the time the bombs were planted. Now that the suspected bomber is in custody, her potential defamation case just got a lot stronger.
Barry Loudermilk ⬇
In March 2024, the Georgia Republican who chairs a House subcommittee on the January 6 attacks wrote a Blaze op-ed defending Baker as a persecuted journalist: "Where is the outrage over Steve Baker's prosecution?" Then he amplified Baker's false story about Kerkhoff as potential proof of "law enforcement involvement" in the pipe bombs. After the arrest of the suspected bomber, he told reporters he spoke to the FBI and they're "confident they got the guy." You know what’s actually outrageous? The seamless pivot after a conspiracy theory implodes—no apology, no explanation, just on to the next conspiracy.
Nike Air Max Speed Turf Shoes ⬆
A FBI subpoena resulted in 233,000 receipts for the kinds of black end caps used to build the pipe bombs—too many to narrow down. But fewer than 25,000 pairs of Nike sneakers in black and gray with a distinctive yellow logo worn by the bomber in video footage were sold, yielding a list of just 1,200 buyers to cross-reference with phone data. Limited-edition drops are great for sneakerheads, but terrible for domestic terrorists.
Originally a staple of Newsweek's print edition, Conventional Wisdom used arrows to track whose stock was rising or falling in the political circus. We're reviving it in the digital age because the problem it lampooned—hyperbole and partisan certainty masquerading as insight—has only intensified.
CW assigns arrows—up, down, or sideways—to the figures and forces shaping current events. The arrows don't predict the future or claim special insight. They capture the prevailing winds of the moment, uncluttered by tribal howling. In an era when partisan media reinforces rather than questions assumptions, CW operates from the center—skeptical of left and right alike, committed to puncturing inflated reputations and recognizing overlooked truths.
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