Four years after the chaos of Jan. 6, 2021 , the Federal Bureau of Investigation hasn’t been able to identify the masked person who placed pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees the night before the Capitol attack.
Searching for fresh leads, the FBI on Thursday gave the public new details about the suspect in hopes of solving the enduring mystery.
The bureau shared previously unreleased camera footage showing the suspect leaving a pipe bomb by a park bench near the Democratic National Committee headquarters shortly before 8 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021.
For the first time, the FBI also specified the suspect’s height as 5 foot 7 inches and, piecing together security footage, charted the circuitous route the person took through Capitol Hill before leaving a second pipe bomb in an alley near the Republican National Committee headquarters.
The two pipe bombs were discovered early in the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, at the same time as rioters began to breach police barricades around the outer perimeter of the Capitol. The FBI deemed both pipe bombs viable, with the capacity to kill or severely injure innocent bystanders.
Vice President Kamala Harris , then vice president-elect, entered the DNC headquarters that day via a ramp within 20 feet of the pipe bomb and was inside for about an hour and 40 minutes before it was discovered and her security detail removed her from the building, according to a report last year by the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog.
The FBI said it was releasing information about the individual in an effort to jog memories and drive tips from the public that could generate traction in an investigation officials described as a priority. So far, the FBI has assessed more than 600 tips, reviewed more than 39,000 video files, conducted more than 1,000 interviews and visited more than 1,200 residences and businesses as part of the investigation.
While the information helped the FBI advance the investigation, “they have not helped us identify the suspect. And we firmly believe there are people out there who do know who this person is and could contribute,” said David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
“It’s been almost four years. Allegiances change,” Sundberg said.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies are offering a combined award of up to $500,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who placed the pipe bombs near the two headquarters buildings.
In a previous release of camera footage, the FBI showed the suspect wearing a gray hoodie, black gloves and a mask that, if not for the Covid era, might have attracted more attention.
“A year earlier, two years earlier, someone walking around in a mask at night would have stuck out more, and people would remember that more,” Sundberg said. “So there are some challenges there, but the tips of the public have been helpful.”
But the FBI has keyed in on one part of the suspect’s outfit that did stand out: a pair of black-and-gray Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow logo.
In a video presentation made public Thursday, the FBI included a close-up image of the shoes and said fewer than 25,000 pairs were sold in the U.S. between August 2018 and January 2021.
“They are distinctive shoes,” Sundberg said. “For a suspect who’s wearing a hoodie with a mask and gloves, the shoes stand out more than anything else as far as something that is distinct and identifiable.”
Write to C. Ryan Barber at ryan.barber@wsj.com
