FBI ups reward to $500,000 for information on Capitol pipe bomber

The FBI is now offering a $500,000 reward for any information on the suspect who left two pipe bombs near the Capitol on January 5, hours before the 2021 riot.

Two years on, investigators have not been able to track down the individual who dropped the explosives outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters while Kamala Harris was inside.

Components available to buy online such as kitchen timers, end caps and wires were used to build the pipe bomb, the FBI said on Thursday as they upped the reward from $100,000.

Investigators have poured over footage and media from surrounding areas but have still not named a suspect. 

They are one of the 350 assailants the Department of Justice is trying to track down for the involvement on January 6.

So far 950 suspects have been arrested, but Attorney General Merrick Garland as said investigations will continue during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

The FBI is now offering a $500,000 reward for any information on the suspect who left two pipe bombs near the Capitol on January 5, hours before the 2021 riot

Two years on, investigators have not been able to track down the individual who dropped the explosives outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters while Kamala Harris was inside.

‘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 bureau said.

The pipe bomb suspect was wearing a face mask, glasses, a grey hooded sweatshirt, gloves, and black and light grey Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow logo, when they dropped the devices on January 5.

Videos show the masked person pacing with a backpack in their hand along South Capitol Street. At one point, the suspect sets down the backpack on the ground and is passed by a man in shorts walking his dog.

Another video shows the pipe bomb suspect sitting on the bench near the DNC, in the area where the suspect later placed the pipe bomb.

A third video shows the same person walking with the backpack in hand past the Capitol Hill Club, which is located next to the RNC building on 1st Street SE.

At the time, Vice President Harris was inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters. 

Components available to buy online such as kitchen timers, end caps and wires were used to build the pipe bomb, the FBI said on Thursday

 Vice President Harris was inside the Democratic National Committee headquarters when the suspect put down the devices 

The Justice Department says of the 950 charged, 484 have pleaded guilty, to felonies like obstructing Congress, assaulting police, or misdemeanors like illegally entering the building.

Of those, 351 have been sentenced, with nearly 200 being handed prison time up to 10 years.

In the most high-profile case yet stemming from January 6, two leaders of the far-right Oath Keepers militia were found guilty in November of seditious conspiracy.

They have not been sentenced yet, but could get as much as 20 years in prison.

The Justice Department said it is seeking public help to identify and track down 350 suspects in the attack, signaling that the cases will continue well toward the third anniversary of January 6.

The numbers do not include the Justice Department’s probe of Trump and others, including possibly his top aides, who are suspected of encouraging or fomenting the violence.