J6 Bomb Case Takes Shocking New Twist as Phone Provider Disputes FBI Claim About Suspect

It’s been called the puzzle the federal government can’t solve — or so we've been led to believe.

Nearly four years after the discovery of pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on the evening of January 5, 2021, we still have no clear answers.

Although the bombs didn’t detonate and are often overlooked in discussions about the events of January 6, a new report challenges one of the key explanations investigators have offered for why they haven’t identified a suspect.

According to a report by Just the News' Steven Richards and John Solomon, mobile phone providers have “intact phone usage data from the vicinity where two pipe bombs were planted during the Jan. 6 incident.”

This directly contradicts FBI testimony that a significant hurdle in identifying the suspect was corrupted phone data.

Since March 2021, a surveillance image of the alleged pipe bomb suspect—a person wearing a gray hoodie and black pants—has been publicly available.

As noted by Just the News, the situation underscores significant security lapses, including an incident involving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Security footage reviewed by the outlet and publicly released by the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight showed Harris brought within yards of the pipe bomb planted near the DNC garage entrance. The footage depicts the suspect calmly sitting on a park bench, placing the bomb between the bench and a nearby bush, and walking away.

“A photo of the device as it was found while Harris was still visiting the DNC shows it clearly visible to the human eye,” the report stated.

Tracking down a suspect without many identifying features may be challenging, but modern cellular data makes it feasible to pinpoint individuals carrying phones in specific areas. However, in testimony to Congress last summer, Steve D’Antuono, the former assistant director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, claimed such data wasn’t fully available due to corruption.

“We did a complete geofence,” D’Antuono testified. “We have complete data. Not complete, because there’s some data that was corrupted by one of the providers, not purposely by them, right,” he said, describing it as an “unusual circumstance.”

This explanation is now being challenged. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chair of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, stated that cell carriers confirmed they provided no corrupted data to the FBI.

“In the days and weeks following January 6, 2021, the FBI opened an investigation into the pipe bomber and attempted to identify the suspect by analyzing cell phone data linked to the area surrounding the RNC and DNC,” Loudermilk said in an interview with Just the News.

“In June 2023, the former Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Steve D’Antuono, who oversaw the pipe bomb investigation, said that the FBI received corrupted data from one of the cell carriers and that it most likely contained the identity of the pipe bomber.

“Given the significance of this information, my Subcommittee sent letters to the three major cell carriers, asking them to respond to Mr. D’Antuono’s claim of corrupted data,” Loudermilk continued.

“Every major cell carrier responded and confirmed that they did not provide the FBI corrupted data.”

Loudermilk further stated that he sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, asking whether the bureau still stands by D’Antuono’s claim and whether the FBI sought to rectify the issue with cell carriers.

“The Subcommittee requests that the FBI provide a response to Mr. D’Antuono’s claim that the FBI received corrupted data,” the letter read, also inquiring whether the bureau had informed the carriers that the data was deemed unusable.

The stakes are significant, even though the bombs never detonated. As Loudermilk observed earlier this year, “[d]espite the suspect’s appearance on numerous [Capitol Police] CCTV cameras, and the FBI’s efforts interviewing over 800 individuals and assessing more than 300 tips, the suspect remains at large.”

This lack of progress stands in stark contrast to the swift identification and arrest of individuals involved in far less serious acts on January 6, often with far less video evidence. Now, with cellular providers confirming the FBI had access to usable geofencing data, doubts about federal investigators’ transparency deepen.

The pipe bombs remain one of the most peculiar incidents tied to a historically unusual day. That the case appears to have been “memory-holed” only adds to suspicions. As Loudermilk and others suggest, resolving this mystery is vital for restoring trust in federal law enforcement, especially when the narrative suggests they may not be telling the whole truth.

While it’s uncertain if the uncorrupted data will lead to answers, using it could bolster public confidence in the FBI’s ability to fulfill its mission and dispel the impression that the agency is withholding critical information.