WASHINGTON —

A Virginia man on Friday made his first court appearance on charges that he planted a pair of pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington on the eve of a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya ordered Brian Cole Jr. to remain in jail a day after his arrest on explosives charges. He is due back in court Dec. 15 for a detention hearing. He did not enter a plea.

An FBI affidavit says investigators identified Cole as a suspect through analysis of credit card charges related to the purchase of pipe bomb components, cellphone towers and a license plate reader.

Cole, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, confessed to the Jan. 5, 2021, act in interviews with investigators, two people familiar with the matte

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