A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump’s mass pardons for individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack do not extend to a Virginia man charged with placing pipe bombs near the national headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties in Washington, D.C.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued the decision Monday, denying a motion to dismiss charges against Brian J. Cole Jr., who was arrested nearly a year after Trump’s sweeping clemency order. While Trump granted pardons and ordered dismissal of cases for more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Capitol riot, Judge Ali found that these pardons expressly applied only to individuals convicted or indicted for crimes tied directly to the January 6 assault. Cole, in contrast, had not been charged or convicted at the time of the pardons.

Cole is accused of planting two pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters on the night before the Capitol siege. The devices were discovered and defused by law enforcement before detonating. According to prosecutors, Cole confessed to FBI agents that he was overwhelmed by conspiracy theories concerning the 2020 presidential election, stating that “something just snapped.” Investigators also relied on phone records and other evidence to link him to the attacks.

Cole’s defense attorneys argued that their client’s actions were "inextricably and demonstrably tethered" to the events of January 6 and therefore fall under the scope of Trump’s pardon proclamation issued at the start of his second term. They maintain that the president’s clemency was intended to cover individuals involved in related offenses.

However, prosecutors have maintained that the pardons do not apply as the proclamation was limited to those convicted or facing charges immediately connected to the Capitol riot itself. The Department of Justice’s position, they argued, should be given deference as the executive branch agency responsible for overseeing the application of the pardons.

Judge Ali, a Biden appointee, sided with the government’s interpretation, emphasizing the narrow terms of the pardon order.

Trump’s pardoning of the January 6 defendants came amid his repeated and unfounded assertions that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, claims that helped spur the attack on the Capitol during a “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House.

Cole is scheduled for a status hearing on Wednesday. A trial date has not yet been set.