The Pipe Bombs Were Part of the Plan

[gab13by13]

Let us not forget the pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC. If they had exploded it would not only have diverted resources away from the Capitol it would have been a big reason for Trump to pause the counting of ballots, or if events went badly, declare martial law.

Someone planned putting the bombs at both the RNC and DNC for a reason, to add to the confusion and mayhem. A pipe bomb placed at the RNC would have been exploited by Fox News. In rides Trump to the Capitol riding in his Suburban to save the day and declaring on live TV that he is ordering a pause in the proceedings until he can figure out what the hell is going on.

[Kingofalldems]

1. No question.

A diversion to occupy law enforcement.

[calimary]

4. Devious thinking. Not surprising.

He likes throwing distractions, confusion, and chaos around like so many pennies in a fountain. It’s strategic. Keeps his opponents distracted and vdisabled.

[PatSeg]

43. Yes once again,

he was running the country like it was a cheesy reality TV show. He lives in a very different world than the rest of us.

[calimary]

57. Man, THERE'S an understatement.

But then again, in a reality show, he’s always guaranteed to be the star and the lead player and the first (and biggest) name on the marquee (in his own twisted little brain, at least).

[PatSeg]

58. Plus he controls the script

and can determine the outcome. I'm not sure he is grounded in any kind of reality at all. I think he is seriously mentally ill and getting worse all the time.

[lapfog_1]

2. And Blame it all on Antifa and BLM

That was always part of the plot as well.

[EYESORE 9001]

3. Perhaps I'm not remembering correctly

but weren’t both bombs rigged NOT to explode? As I recall, they were complete but the crucial arming step wasn’t performed. Those devices created quite a disruption despite never exploding.

[Effete Snob]

8. Here is the FBI page

The FBI has said the bombs were "viable".

The pictures published by the FBI show them to have one-hour mechanical kitchen timers.

They were planted the night before.

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/suspected-pipe-bombs-in-washington-dc

[PufPuf23]

60. Were the planted pipe bombs as obvious in the photos?

One would think if not meant to be readily found, the bombs could have been placed in a paper bag or box.

[Effete Snob]

61. Reports of where they were

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/14/986457987/what-we-know-about-the-suspect-who-planted-bombs-before-the-capitol-riot

Sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., the suspect placed one pipe bomb on a park bench near the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee

---

and a minor correction. Various stories have referred to the discovery by someone who lives in an apartment across the street. However, she was walking by at the time:

https://madison.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/madison-native-says-she-found-pipe-bomb-near-rnc-office-in-d-c-by-sheer/article_0972de1a-6012-5407-8a19-63d5763ea43a.html

On her lunch break on Jan. 6., Younger decided to do a load of laundry. At about 12:40 p.m. EST, she walked through an alley, past the Republican National Committee office and into the laundry room to put the load in the dryer.

On her way back to her apartment with her damp sweater in tow, something caught Younger’s eye.

“I just happened to look down by sheer luck,” Younger said. “And I noticed that by the recycling bin there was this tangle of wires.”

She thought someone had missed the recycling bin, and she’d be able to throw away the trash for them. But when Younger looked closer, she noticed the wires were attached to a pipe that was capped on both ends. The wires were also connected to a radial dial, almost like an “old-school kitchen timer,” with a red hand pointing at the number 20.



Just sitting out in the open.

[PufPuf23]

62. Thank you for clarification. Looks like meant to be found and

immediately recognized as a bomb with timer.

Even a newspaper weighted by rocks or many other tactics could have been used to better conceal the bomb(s).

[Effete Snob]

64. Well, they weren't well hidden

That much is certain. They were both found in plain view.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Here was the FBI's last info release on it last September (includes the video clips)

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/washingtondc/news/press-releases/fbi-washington-field-office-releases-video-and-additional-information-regarding-the-pipe-bomb-investigation-090821

I.e., they claimed they were "viable", although didn't go into the specifics of how they might be triggered.

[Pepsidog]

5. Were the pipe bombs determined to be capable of exploding and if so by what mechanism would set off

the bombs?

[2naSalit]

7. Someting...

I was wondering about too.

If they were viable and triggered by a cell phone, there could be some big ugliness when those involved are exposed.

[Effete Snob]

12. cell phone?

The FBI pictures show the bombs to have simple mechanisms in which one uses a one-hour mechanical kitchen timer to close an electrical contact formed by a paper clip connected to a wire.

They were planted the night before. With one hour timers on them. They both failed to work.

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/suspected-pipe-bombs-in-washington-dc





They were not well hidden. One was spotted by someone from their apartment window from across the street.

[2naSalit]

19. That's...

Far more info than I have ever had about them. I was not sure what kind of mechanism was involved, there was so much going on at the time.

Thanks for that info, makes sense.

[Effete Snob]

20. It's worth looking at what the FBI has published

[LiberalArkie]

32. No pictures were ever shown that indicated that it had a battery or an electrical detonator.

[Effete Snob]

35. Yep

[WA-03 Democrat]

23. To be trigger remotely it would need some

Kind of radio receiver at a minimum - or a really long cable. It had one clock and one trigger. It failed or was never set to go off. I think they were decoys to consume security and create chaos.

[2naSalit]

26. I was not aware of the details...

Until now. I am sure that they could have been decoys which makes it all the more possible that mtg was the one who placed them.

[ProfessorGAC]

53. I Buy That

First, they both had 1 hour timers. They would have gone off at an inappropriate time.
Second, somebody who figures out how to build an IED isn't likely to screw up badly enough to have a 100% failure rate. The required design isn't that complicated.

[Effete Snob]

63. One minor possibility

As a youth with an interest in electronics, model rocketry, and things that go boom, I used to play a game with a friend of mine where we would make booby traps.

For example one time he took a battery, a piece of nichrome wire wrapped on the fuse of a smoke bomb, and rigged it with a pair of contacts on a clothespin that would be triggered when I opened my bedroom door which pulled a slip of paper out of the clothespin. Left a burn mark in my carpet that I lived with for years.

Anywho, playing around with dumb stuff like that, it was always good to have an "arming" circuit and a "trigger" circuit, so that there would be a safe getaway between setting the device and it being really ready to go off. (a piece of ice in a clothespin, in series with another clothespin trigger, for example)

It's conceivable that the kitchen timers could have been a delayed arming mechanism, and that there was, say, a miniature electronic timer and battery inside the pipe part of the device, so that you could plant the device, set the hour timer, and the device would not be armed until you are well away. That would be to avoid, for example, any power-up transients in the secondary solid state timing trigger.

However, that's kind of an outside possibility. Because if they were that worried about a safety delay, the devices would have been more reliable anyway.

There is an oddity though:

https://madison.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/madison-native-says-she-found-pipe-bomb-near-rnc-office-in-d-c-by-sheer/article_0972de1a-6012-5407-8a19-63d5763ea43a.html

“I just happened to look down by sheer luck,” Younger said. “And I noticed that by the recycling bin there was this tangle of wires.”

She thought someone had missed the recycling bin, and she’d be able to throw away the trash for them. But when Younger looked closer, she noticed the wires were attached to a pipe that was capped on both ends. The wires were also connected to a radial dial, almost like an “old-school kitchen timer,” with a red hand pointing at the number 20.

So, how does a one hour timer get set the night before and then found the next day at 20 minutes to go?

U.S. Capitol Police, FBI agents and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called to the alleyway around 12:45 p.m. to deactivate the bomb. About 30 minutes later, as the agents and bomb technicians were still investigating at RNC headquarters, another call came in for a second, similar explosive device found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters nearby.

Now, one of the FBI pictures shows the armature of a timer which has been popped off the timer (where you can see the glue gun glue and the paperclip). Did they disarm it onsite, or was the timer not working?


(on edit: I might have answered the "why at 20" question. The paper clip extended well beyond the timer. So if the timer was laying sideways, it would get stuck, since the spring mechanism doesn't have enough torque to push the whole works sideways and keep turning. That would make for a good effect if it was intentionally designed not to go off, since, whenever it was found, it would look like it was going to go off soon. That would also explain the actual function of that big long paperclip 'contact'.)

[ProfessorGAC]

65. I Guess That's Possible

My only pushback is that there would have to be some mechanical intervention to hold the kitchen timer in place until released by the electronics.
The picture doesn't look like there's much depth under the dial for a battery, a solenoid & a dial stop.
But, the picture could be deceiving.
Still doesn't make sense that someone would go 0 for 2 on such a simple device.
A pipe bomb could just be black or smokeless powder so "viable" isn't a descriptor that helps much.
A "viable" dud could be used to occupy resources, taking them away from response to the Capitol.
Obviously, this is all speculation.

[Effete Snob]

66. "0 for 2 on such a simple device"

Yep, that seems to be the top line observation.

Even the Tsarnaev brothers were able to figure this out. They were out in the boonies testing out their design before the Boston marathon.

I meant the kitchen timer as the arming delay, and the "real" timer as a 555 chip with a really big capacitor or, I guess the kids these days use microcontrollers like Adafruit (a little bitty postage stamp microcontroller) and don't do analog circuits anymore. But, again, if someone is doing that, then arming with a kitchen timer seems kinda dumb, since you can just as well have a solid state arming timer, or do it in software anyway.

Of course it's utter speculation, but, sure, even someone with little idea what they are doing would have done at least some kind of testing - if not of a whole device, at least of their timing and ignition parts.

[obamanut2012]

14. The FBI has stated the pipes were viable

They have not released any more specifics.

[Effete Snob]

21. The FBI has published more specifics

There is a link to the additional information published by the FBI upthread.

[Meadowoak]

73. a mechanical kitchen timer was attached to each of the bombs. i believe

MTG forgot to start the timers when she placed them there.

[2naSalit]

6. Except, I have to ask...

Does he actually have the Constitutional power to halt a Congressional procedure by declaration?

I'm sure the bombs had a purpose beyond looks so I am waiting to hear more about that and that it was probably mtg who planted them.

[wnylib]

16. No he doesn't have that constitutional power.

But then he also does not have constitutional power to stop the certification process or to incite an attack on the Capitol. The Orange Strangler takes whatever powers he wants, like any mob boss, wannabe dictator.

[gab13by13]

18. He had no right to go to the Capitol,

he must be invited but that didn't stop him from trying to go there.

[bottomofthehill]

46. He actually does not have to be invited

And he can go on the House and Senate floor by their rules. He can only address the House by invitation but he can go any time.

[Mister Ed]

38. Perhaps he could have invoked the Insurrection Act, or declared martial law?

I think the Constitution gives the president the authority to declare martial law and gain sweeping powers in times of emergency. Alternately, I think the 1965 Insurrection Act enables a president to grant himself most of those powers, but without any need to consult military leadership.

I have no legal expertise, and so I'm not at all sure of myself on these points. Perhaps DU'ers with legal knowledge can help clarify. But it seems to me that some combination of pipe bombs, rioting, and the capture and assassination of Pence or Pelosi or various legislators would have provided Trump with plenty of justification for invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring martial law.

[wnylib]

42. He might have taken control

via declaration of a national emergency and I think that was the plan. But the question that I responded to only asked if he had the power to stop a Congressional procedure just by declaration. I took that to mean a simple declaration that the procedure must stop, which is not a presidential power.

But after an emergency declaration, he might have claimed security and public safety reasons to shut every thing down.

[Ilsa]

10. The bastards almost pulled it off. nt

[obamanut2012]

15. I am curious why she asked for a pardon so early...

[yardwork]

24. And she talked about "Marshall law" early on, too.

It was one of the texts she misspelled. I remember she was talking about the president declaring martial law, back in December. She was in on it.

[Richard58]

27. I wouldn't doubt it was MTG!

Watch the video of the bomber. The bomber seems to be a woman in my opinion and it would not surprise me in the least if it was Marjorie Taylor Greene. I'm convinced this coup attempt was a well-planned conspiracy among some high-ranking republicans. It's one of the reasons that Marjorie asked for a pardon in my humble opinion. I would love it if they found out it was her and put her dumbass in prison.

[LaMouffette]

33. And if you look at the FBI's close up photo of the person's sneakers, they look pretty small, which

could also indicate a woman.

I wonder if the pipe bomber is Lauren Boebert. She's more than comfortable with weaponry. Wouldn't be a far stretch for her to go from "Bam-Bam" Boebert to "Boom-Boom" Boebert."

[LaMouffette]

52. Hmm. Yeah, the clothes were really baggy, too, no doubt to conceal the person's identity.

What was weird in that one video was what someone here described as a "fake stretch" the pipe bomber did when a car passed by. Could that have been a signal to the person driving the car? The FBI must be trying to identify that car, too.

[Grasswire2]

54. and no Park Service presence along the Mall.

Who gave a Stand Down order to Park Service?

[stopdiggin]

13. possibly. but there's also the possibility

that such and event would have put the capital on lockdown - and prevented the 'tiny tot' from having his magnificent, splendid, 'greatest ever' gathering of adoration. (and actually prevented the Capital riot from taking place)
----- -----

[gab13by13]

17. According to CNN

CNN was first to report that the bombs were eight inches long and made of galvanized steel, according to a law enforcement official. They had been rigged to egg timers and filled with an explosive powder, the official said.

[rubbersole]

22. And like so many things associated with tfg...

...they failed to function. This aspect has the smell of Roger Stone all over it.

[gab13by13]

25. Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.

[John1956PA]

28. False-flag operations are a hallmark of the Rethugs. Rove was accused of such an act.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x782575

[gab13by13]

36. Yes, you get it,

Just like the Dick Cheney's anthrax false flag operation. The planted pipe bombs were supposed to be a Reichstag fire.

[IronLionZion]

31. Yet somehow it isn't terrorism

Since the folks who say "Never Forget 9/11" don't see it as a problem.

Antifa dresses up as MAGA to stop the vote count because they are diabolical like that

[Traildogbob]

40. Wonder if

Any of the phone records could prove Meadows ordered this and who was the planter. Or one of the terrorist that flips could ID who. If it could be proved MTG placed them, I would maybe believe in a good God. Or maybe Boebert was the one. Seems that may be the only way to kick her ass out of the our house and send her to the big house with bars.

[Traildogbob]

48. All great points.

I hope the people paid lots of money to look for the terrorist are covering it all. The thing is, looks like many of those were in on it all.

[Traildogbob]

51. Back to you.

Like most vets, I will not be in Moscow. Hope yours is great. We may need another independence day holiday if we ever take out Trump and his Cult to retake the country.

[brooklynite]

41. ...And Schumer and Pelosi ignore him.

Add to which if a bomb had detonated, there's no way the SS would allow him to be ini the area.

[Beachnutt]

44. So what has come of this ?

Surely the fbi has figured out who it was by now.
And what has come of the boxes trump stole and took to maralargo ?
And the documents flushed ?

It seems as though all this hits the news wires and the media chews on it for a week or so and it becomes under investigation and dies.

[NoMoreRepugs]

45. This is Game of Thrones stuff - more and more books (info) coming at some point in time.

[uponit7771]

55. K&R,

[Kingofalldems]

56. Kick this one.

[ArnoldLayne]

59. Why were they played at both the RNC and the DNC

Headquarters?

[Effete Snob]

67. .

[czarjak]

70. Be Bannon

[TeamProg]

68. Gawd that's probably right. !"@!((;$!!

[czarjak]

69. NFS

[Evolve Dammit]

71. No leads? No fingerprints? No nothing??