Thread by @realjusthuman

🧵United States v. Cole
(J6 Pipe Bomber case)

New filing from Defense opposing Cole being held in jail pending trial.

"Mr. Cole should be released pending trial because the governing, multi-factor analysis demonstrates that bail is required..."

Hearing today at 1pm.

"The defense’s position is that the government cannot continue to keep Mr. Cole in custody absent a valid finding of probable cause."

"Probable cause or not, Mr. Cole should be released pending trial."

"two essential principles of law that govern bail hearings"

1) The default position is release unless there is "a concrete, prospective threat to public safety that cannot be mitigated"

2) Guilt is irrelevant; only the evidence that the defendant is dangerous matters as regards a bail hearing.

"The government’s detention motion tells the Court little more than the government is optimistic that it will be able to convict Mr. Cole at trial...

Mr. Cole is presumed innocent, and any attempt to argue his guilt at this point, in support of detention, is misguided."

"The question is whether there is a present danger—a contention the government never actually makes, and something belied by the past four years in which Mr. Cole has lived without incident."

"The government’s burden to demonstrate a present danger becomes insurmountable when considering the following factors favoring pretrial release:"
👇

"Mr. Cole should be released pending trial. He has no criminal history, and there is zero evidence to suggest he will flee. Each factor supports release with conditions..."

"No device detonated, no person was injured, and no property was damaged."

"While the government’s theory involves an explosive device, that fact is not dispositive. The statute’s enumerated categories inform the analysis; they do not create an automatic rule of detention...

The record favors conditional release."

"..the unique conditions surrounding January 5–6, 2021, are unlikely to recur in a way that would present the same risk profile for Mr. Cole. The Court must ask whether conditions such as home detention, GPS monitoring, and third-party supervision can mitigate any residual risk."

"The government’s showing is entirely retrospective and circumstantial. Even if credited, the government’s evidence describes an isolated window on a single evening nearly four years ago. It does not point to a 'pattern of troubling activity' that would typically warrant detention in other cases."

"...when reviewing the history and characteristics of a defendant, the following factors must be considered:"
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"In sum, nothing in the record suggests evasive conduct or resistance to law enforcement. The government does not allege that Mr. Cole attempted to flee, obstruct, or commit additional crimes. Mr. Cole simply does not pose a danger to the community."

"Whatever risk the government posits is theoretical and backward-looking, belied by the past four years where Mr. Cole lived at home with his family without incident.

All of this weighs heavily against an inference of current danger to the community at large. In any event, stringent conditions will reasonably assure community safety."

Well, it's a solid argument from Cole Jr.'s recently assembled, very experienced, high-powered team of attorneys.

Don't be surprised if he is given a bond and released on the suggested conditions.

Filing here
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

Also, don't allow yourself to react or allow others to bait you into being particularly upset if he is released on bond and with these conditions.

So far, Cole Jr. doesn't seem anything like the bogeyman that politicians, influencers, and media have built the J6 pipe bomber into over the past four years.

At this point, rather than being an agent of the Deep State or a violent paramilitary group, he seems far closer to being a frustrated, reclusive, disturbed person who believed "everything was getting worse," and so he acted out in an irrational, dangerous way.

Many such cases.

The story in this case is looking like it will develop into one that's more about mental health, parenting, influences, internet forums, and the politics at the Cole home and work.

The conspiracies and cover-up narratives will persist, though. Too much ego and money in it.

I expect many of the people and outlets that built the pipe bomber into a fantastical agent of sabotage, who fictionalized him as a bad actor working for whatever faction they regard as the dark side, will continue to push their preferred story about the case, the facts be damned.