The Blaze Under Fire for Falsely Identifying J6 Pipe Bomb Suspect a Month Before Real Suspect Was Named
(FBI via AP, File)
Conservative media outlet The Blaze has come under fire following the revelation that it falsely reported the alleged identity of the January 6 pipe bomb suspect.
On Thursday, the suspect accused of planting pipe bombs outside the offices of the RNC and DNC in 2021 was taken into custody. Hours later, that suspect was identified as Brian Cole from Woodbridge, Virginia. Authorities claim Cole planted the bombs the evening before the January 6 riots. He was due to appear in court later that day.
Thursday’s arrest also firmly debunked a prior report from The Blaze. In early November, reporter Steve Barker claimed the suspect had been identified as former Capitol Police officer Shauni Kerkhoff. Barker added that Kerkhoff had quit the force six months after the riot and then “slipped quietly into a three-letter intelligence agency,” fueling the conspiracy theory that the Capitol riot was an inside job.
Surveillance footage later determined that Kerkhoff was at home with her dogs at the time the bombs were planted.
When news broke of Cole’s arrest, many were quick to point out The Blaze’s blunder of a report from just weeks earlier.
Bulwark’s Will Sommer called the arrest “very bad news” for The Blaze.
Reason reporter Billy Binion called on the outlet to “shut down in disgrace.”
Others shared similar sentiments.
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