If you thought that we were done with all of the rumours and conspiracy theories surrounding the 6 January Capitol riots, you’d be wrong. While it’s been over three years since the insurgence dominated headlines and had us all perpetually glued to our Twitter feeds, there appears to be a pretty wild update about a set of pipe bombs connected to a mysterious individual no one can seem to identify.

According to CBS News, the individual who investigators say left two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington, DC the night before the 6 January attack is still on the loose. Moreover, the FBI is offering a $500,000 reward for information that may lead to the arrest of the person responsible.

Despite having access to CCTV footage and a widespread public campaign urging people to try and identify the assailant, authorities have had no luck in hunting down the suspect. All they do know is that the unknown individual wore Nike Air Max Speed turf shoes, a face mask, glasses, gloves and a grey hooded sweatshirt.

While the pipe bombs did not detonate, the FBI insisted that they had posed a “viable” danger to the public. In fact, Vice President Kamala Harris was evacuated from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) headquarters when the devices were recovered.

So, what’s the most recent update? Has the mystery individual been caught? No, instead, conspiracy theorists have decided to push the narrative that it was in fact government officials who planted the pipe bombs, all in a bid to stop Donald Trump from taking his “rightful” place as the President of the United States.

It all began when Trump-ally and right-wing conservative Darren Beattie was removed from his position in the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad agency. According to Insider, his firing came after it was revealed that Beattie was continuing to occupy a position in the federal government given to him by Donald Trump, almost a year since Joe Biden took office and gained the ability to fire him.

Beattie’s appointment in 2020 caused outrage and since then multiple campaign groups have continued to call for his removal. In a statement to Insider, the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors anti-Semitism, said that Beattie should not be continuing to serve on the body. One of its spokesmen stated: “Since Beattie’s appointment to the Commission in November 2020, he has continued to spread outrageous and deeply harmful falsehoods and misinformation, including about the 6 January insurrection, that are at odds with serving in such positions of official responsibility.”

Clearly unfazed by his firing, Beattie posted this in response:

Better than a Pulitzer… pic.twitter.com/Rp1agfJkP8

— Darren J. Beattie 🌐 (@DarrenJBeattie) January 14, 2022

Since Trump left the White House, Beattie has only become more aggressive with his conspiracy theories and he debuted his most recent one, the one that pertains to the pipe bombs, on none other than Tucker Carlson’s show.

It seems likely that government officials were involved in planting pipe bombs in Washington, DC three years ago, as part of an effort to keep Donald Trump from running for president again. Darren Beattie has details. pic.twitter.com/jsM5jCDeBd

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 18, 2024

Carlson is of course an American conservative commentator who was infamously dismissed from Fox News in April 2023. Now, hosting his own show on X, Carlson spoke with Beattie about the pipebomb theory on 18 January 2024. During his appearance, Beattie stuck with the narrative that the bombs had to of been planted by insiders, a notion Carlson was clearly very taken with.

To say that Beattie’s evidence for this being an inside job is far-fetched, would be too kind. However, this conversation does prove how so many individuals, to this day, are still fixated on the conspiracy theories surrounding 6 January 2021.

The FBI has not released any other information on the case.