The man accused of attempting to blow up both the Republican and Democratic National Committees in Washington, DC on Jan 5. 2021 was a highly active My Little Pony fan.
Brian Cole Jr., 30, was seemingly obsessed with the toys — marketed at young girls — creating art of plastic pony dolls, remixes of songs about them, and writing fan fiction dedicated to them.
His works are spread across various social media accounts linked to Cole’s email address and phone number.
Posting as iDeltaVelocity, Cole apparently uploaded 87 pictures of My Little Pony fan art to one forum, showing various pony and unicorn characters. One is depicted with a bionic leg brace, and he appears to favor pink or purple ponies with long, multicolored manes.
In one post, a “Star Wars” inspired pony says in a speech bubble: “I’m not ‘cute,’ I’m deadly,” which Cole says is a line from video game “Star Wars: The Old Republic.”
A Tumblr account focused on My Little Pony art which used one of Cole’s usernames commented on a drawing of a pony with an M60 machine gun, writing: “Eh… I’d give her an RPG. What can I say? Explosions are COOL!” referring to a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher.
A man who is part of the My Little Pony a subculture is known as a “Brony.” The community was, in 2017, large enough to hold annual conventions and experts considered followers sincere in their fandom.
None of Cole’s posts examined by The Post had any noticeable sexual connotations. One fan fiction story apparently authored by Cole showcases his bringing together of My Little Pony fantasy and horror.
“Applebloom’s eyes snapped open as she sat up in her bed, panting heavily and sweat dripping from her red mane […] The skeletons, the zombified ponies rising up from the ground, their decaying bodies, rotting flesh sliding off from their bones,” he allegedly wrote. “She buried her face in her hooves, crying silently at the horrible images that inhabited her mind.”
A former high school classmate told The Washington Post that Cole had carried a My Little Pony backpack and had been teased for it.
“The subculture of Bronies was very online and unique and attracted a lot of male fans, who were breaking gender norms, which attracted a lot of attention,” said Dr. Daniel Chadborn, an Assistant Professor of Psychology who wrote the book “Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of the Adult My Little Pony Fandom.”
The subculture was not generally sexual, Chadborn noted, adding he isn’t surprised that within the community, some its members are troubled.
“Someone who is disaffected is often going to look for spaces to engage in, for a sense of identity and belonging.”
Hasbro, the toy company behind My Little Pony, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Since his arrest last week, little information and no motive for Cole’s actions has emerged. He was reclusive, apart from walking his chihuahua in his local neighborhood and lived with his family, The Post has previously reported.
His grandmother described him as “almost autistic-like, because he doesn’t understand a lot of stuff,” and he worked for the family bail bonds company, Brian Cole Bail Bonds.
Cole wrote his interests are: “Parkour, music, video games (mainly horror), drawing, improving myself philosophically, anime,” in a profile on another Tumblr account.
He also responded to a question about what makes him feel better when he’s in a bad mood with: “Smashing my head on my keyboard…”
Names he appears to have gone under to post online include “iDeltaVelocity,” “Delta1Forgotten,” “Bron1Delta” and “Blue Velocity.”
Under the latter he posted songs he made in the “Electro Swing” genre, some also with My Little Pony themes, such as “Pony I Want to Be (iDeltaVelocity remix)” and “Doin’ the Equestrian Jive.”
After 2020 his public online activity trails off. At that time he was already putting his pipe-bomb plan in action, according to authorities, who say he was visiting several retailers around northern Virginia, including Home Depot stores, Micro Center, Lowes and Walmart to amass material to make his crude bombs, neither of which detonated.
Cole faces charges for transporting an explosive device across state lines with the intent to kill, injure and damage property and attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. He has already confessed to police, sources told The Post.
