Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters building in Washington D.C., United States, on November 29, 2022. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Just ahead of the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, the FBI announced a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the Capitol Hill pipe bomber.
The night before the attack on the U.S. Capitol building, a suspect placed two pipe bombs in Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood. One was planted near the Republican Committee headquarters and another at the Democratic Committee building.
The investigation has been ongoing since the attack — with the FBI reviewing more than 39,000 video files and assessing over 500 tips from the public.
While the bombs were not detonated, the threat was very real according to local and federal authorities. Not only are officials concerned with bringing the suspect to justice for the January 6 incident, there is worry that the individual still poses a threat to themselves and the general public.
Sunberg also noted that the increase in reward money from $100,000 to $500,000 is to encourage those who may be privy to information about the pipe bomber to come forward.
"Despite the unprecedented volume of data review involved in this case, the FBI and our partners continue to work relentlessly to bring the perpetrator of these dangerous attempted attacks to justice," Sundberg said.
President Joe Biden has met with new House Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House. Johnson was joined by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as they discussed Biden's request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs.
The new leader of one of the chambers of Congress that will certify the winner of next year's presidential election helped spearhead the attempt to overturn the last one, raising alarms that Republicans could try to subvert the will of the voters if they remain in power despite safeguards enacted after the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Israel rolled tanks into northern Gaza for what the military called a targeted raid aiming to destroy Hamas infrastructure. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council failed to pass two separate resolutions proposed by the U.S. and Russia on humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
Republican Mike Johnson is the new speaker of the House, but the ally of Donald Trump inherits many of the same political problems that have tormented past GOP leaders.
