In a long-awaited move, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has made public a video of an unidentified suspect planting a pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in 2021.
The release of the footage comes almost four years after the incident, with the individual responsible still at large.
According to The Post Millennial, the FBI has been striving to draw more attention to the case, in which the suspect placed not only one but two bombsone at the DNC and another at the Republican National Committee (RNC). The FBI disclosed that the suspect, whose gender remains unknown, stands at 5-foot-7, as seen in the video from January 5, 2021.
David Sundberg, the assistant director overseeing the Washington field office, expressed the challenges of the investigation. "Without being able to confirm the suspect's identity, it is very hard to definitively establish motive," Sundberg said. "Therefore, it would be difficult for us to state that there is a link, although we cant state there is not one."
The urgency to identify the pipe bomber has intensified following revelations of multiple security lapses surrounding the incident. A recent report from the House Administration Committee scrutinized these failures, concluding that there were "serious, and largely overlooked, security failure[s]" on that fateful day in 2021 around the Capitol complex.
The report detailed the struggle of federal law enforcement to secure and maintain a perimeter around both pipe bombs. "Throughout the afternoon on January 6, federal law enforcement struggled to secure and maintain a perimeter around both pipe bombs, resulting in pedestrian and vehicular traffic passing by the explosive devices. On multiple occasions, federal law enforcement repeatedly identified breaches of the perimeters around the pipe bombs yet failed to maintain a secure perimeterrevealing a complete breakdown in command and control," the report stated.
The United States Secret Service was also implicated in the security failures. The agency failed to locate the explosive during a security sweep of the DNC on the morning of January 6. Other lapses included allowing pedestrians and traffic to get "within feet" of the explosive devices, permitting the House Speaker's motorcade to "drive through an acting bomb scene," and allowing commuter trains to pass by the DNC bomb where civilians were "within close proximity to one of the viable devices."
The report further highlighted that bombs were placed outside both the DNC and the RNC, yet numerous agents were seen on video passing by the explosives without identifying them. "Over the course of the morning, numerous [U.S. Secret Service] agents passed by the pipe bomb yet failed to identify it." One pipe bomb was found just 20 feet from the DNC building's garage, underscoring the gravity of the security lapses.
The revelation of these security failures raises serious questions about the effectiveness of our national security apparatus. It underscores the need for a thorough review and reform of security protocols to ensure the safety of our nation's political institutions and the individuals who serve within them.
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