On December 4th, during a segment on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, host Jake Tapper reported on the FBI’s arrest of Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old Virginia man charged with planting pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021—the eve of the January 6 Capitol riot. Tapper described Cole as “a 30-year-old white man from the D.C. suburbs,” summarizing the Justice Department’s indictment for charges including transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce and malicious destruction by means of explosion.
Moments later in the same broadcast, CNN aired photos of Cole, who is clearly a Black man, making the discrepancy immediately apparent to viewers.
This error sparked widespread mockery and criticism online, with conservative commentators accusing Tapper and CNN of bias or deliberate misrepresentation to align with a preferred narrative portraying January 6-related violence as tied to white extremism.
For instance, posts on X (formerly Twitter) highlighted the clip, with users overlaying Cole’s photo and questioning why the network would “lie” about his race.
Tapper has not publicly commented on the incident as of December 5th, and CNN has not issued an on-air correction or statement in the immediate aftermath.
Official announcements from the FBI and DOJ did not specify Cole’s race, focusing instead on details like his phone pings, credit card transactions, and surveillance footage matching his gait and clothing.
Critics argue it reflects deeper media bias. They point out that initial January 6 coverage often emphasized white supremacist involvement, and describing Cole as white could subconsciously reinforce that storyline before photos emerged—especially since the case had languished unsolved for nearly four years under the Biden administration, fueling conspiracy theories about a cover-up.
One X user quipped, “Normally when the suspect is black, they just avoid stating the race altogether, but this time they just lied,” capturing the sentiment among skeptics.
