CNN’s Tapper Draws Heat After Wrongly ID’ing DC Pipe Bomb Suspect As ‘White Man’
CNN anchor Jake Tapper sparked immediate backlash Thursday after incorrectly identifying the suspect in the January 6 pipe bomb investigation as a “white man” during a live broadcast.
The gaffe occurred during the opening segment of “The Lead” just after 5:00 p.m., as Tapper was discussing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr. The description sharply contradicted images aired by the network moments later—sourced from the suspect’s mother’s Instagram account—which clearly showed that Cole is Black.
Critics and competing outlets seized on the gaffe almost immediately. Fox News host Jesse Watters highlighted the clip on his program, while social media commentators circulated the footage, questioning how the misidentification made it to air.
[twitter-code url="https://twitter.com/KLeavitNews/status/1996802994772246987"]
Cole was arrested Thursday morning, nearly five years after a masked individual was recorded placing explosives near the Democratic and Republican national headquarters. Authorities reportedly broke the case using license plate data and historical cell tower records.
Following the arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the “diligent police work” that closed the investigation after it had “languished for four years.”
CNN has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the on-air error.
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