The defense team for Brian Cole Jr., accused of planting pipe bombs near the Capitol on January 6, 2021, is pursuing a highly unusual strategy. They plan to argue that the bombs were placed by Shauni Kerkhoff, a former Capitol Police officer whose name first surfaced in a debunked right-wing conspiracy theory. Kerkhoff, who later worked for the CIA, was briefly investigated by the FBI after an article in The Blaze falsely identified her as the bomber.

The investigation was closed days before Cole's arrest, and Kerkhoff's lawyer denies any involvement. Cole's lawyers, however, claim Kerkhoff failed a polygraph and had a 'controlled reaction' to failing it, details from sealed court papers. This counternarrative represents a significant pivot from Cole's initial confession to investigators that he acted alone, driven by a belief the 2020 election was 'tampered with.'.