WASHINGTON — The FBI has arrested a suspect five years after an unidentified person placed two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties in Washington.

Agents arrested Brian J. Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, on explosive charges. Calls to relatives of Cole listed in public records were not immediately returned.

The mystery behind the person’s identity has bedeviled law enforcement and helped fuel conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, 2021, and the Capitol riot by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Here's what to know about the arrest:

Why now

The FBI and Justice Department declined to elaborate on what led them to the suspect. But authorities attributed the arrest to a reinvigorated investigation and a fresh analysis of alread

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