A suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs blocks from the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2021, is now in federal custody after a nearly five-year investigation, law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The FBI arrested the suspect, a male living in Virginia, early Thursday morning, the sources said.

Authorities discovered the two pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committees’ headquarters around the same time that thousands of protesters a few blocks away began to descend on the Capitol over the 2020 election results.

Video footage released by the FBI showed an unidentified person placing the pipe bombs near the two headquarters more than 16 hours before law enforcement found them.

The suspect was seen wearing a gray hoodie, Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers, a face mask, glasses, and gloves, but the person’s identity had long been unknown.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced an investigation into what he called a “troubling incident,” in which a Midwestern school allegedly vaccinated a child without their parent’s consent.

In a video statement on X, Kennedy said that HHS is taking “decisive steps” to defend parents’ rights to guide their child’s health decisions following the alleged incident.

“A school administered a federally funded vaccine to a child without the parent’s consent and despite a legally recognized state exemption,” he said. “When any institution — a school, a doctor’s office, a clinic — disregards a religious exemption, it doesn’t just break trust, it also breaks the law.”

“We’re not going to tolerate it,” he added.

RFK JR. ACCUSES BIDEN ADMIN OF PUTTING ‘SPEED OVER SAFETY’ IN MIGRANT CHILD CASES

Kennedy did not identify the state, the school or the vaccine said to be involved.

Kennedy said that the Trump administration will ensure that health care providers and institutions will not ignore parental rights when it comes to their children’s health.

“We will use every tool we have to protect families and restore accountability,” he said.

WEST VIRGINIA RESTORES EXCLUSION OF RELIGIOUS REASONS FOR SCHOOL VACCINE EXEMPTIONS AFTER LATEST COURT RULING

Kennedy said HHS is launching compliance reviews of major providers and healthcare systems to ensure that they give parents timely access to their children’s information. He said a letter will be issued reminding providers of “their clear legal duty” to share medical records with parents — with “no delays, no secrets, no excuses.”

A second letter from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) went to HRSA grant recipients, stressing that federal dollars require compliance with laws protecting parental rights.

HHS is also reviewing how states and districts process medical and religious exemptions to ensure the federally funded Vaccines for Children program complies with federal and state law.

Kennedy added that parents may file complaints with the HHS Office for Civil Rights if they believe their rights — or their children’s — have been violated.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who is currently running for governor, slapped down the idea that she might retire from Congress early.

“Retiring is a BIG FAT NO from me – not sure why the internet is running with this like wildfire – for the clicks I suppose,” Mace said in a post on X.

The New York Times reported that Mace told individuals that she is so frustrated by House Speaker Mike Johnson and sick of the manner in which he has run the lower chamber, particularly the treatment of women there, that she plans to speak to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., next week about following her path and leaving the House early. 

MACE CAMPAIGN STAFFER QUITS GOVERNOR BID TEAM, ACCUSING HER OF DISLOYALTY TO TRUMP

Fox News Digital reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s offices to request comment from the lawmaker.

Greene announced last month that she will leave office early next year, but Mace has repudiated the notion that she plans to follow in the Georgia Republican’s footsteps.

JOHNSON POINTS TO OBAMA-ERA DRONE PRECEDENT AS CONGRESS PROBES DEADLY CARIBBEAN STRIKE

“Media catches one tiny piece of an overheard conversation and loses it. Confirmed: There’s frustration that discharge petitions are the only way to move things through the House. Confirmed: There’s frustration we haven’t codified Trump’s Executive Orders. We did Gulf of America. Cool. Look at Elise Stefanik or Anna Paulina Luna comments this week. Not confirmed: That anyone is retiring. Goodness. And God bless!” she said in posts on X.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN MOVES TO FORCE VOTE ON LAWMAKER STOCK OWNERSHIP, TRADING BAN

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“Case in point. I signed a discharge petition to ban stock trading today. Why does something so easy ethically and morally to support, take forcing it down the throats of leadership when it’s just common sense? Members of Congress shouldn’t line their pockets with insider trading…” Mace said in posts on X.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has been formally rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, marking the latest step in the president’s months-long effort to dismantle the congressionally created agency.

The name change comes after a turbulent year for the organization, which the Trump administration has sought to shut down while shifting its authority to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The institute has been fighting the move in federal court, but layoffs proceeded after an appeals court stayed a lower-court ruling that temporarily blocked the administration’s plan.

The agency’s website briefly went offline Wednesday morning before returning with promotion for Trump’s upcoming peace-agreement ceremony between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

TRUMP CAPS WEEK WITH BOLD MILITARY MOVES FROM PENTAGON NAME CHANGE TO CARTEL CRACKDOWN

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the renaming, telling Fox News Digital the former institute had been “a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.”

“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly said. 

She added Trump “ended eight wars in less than a year,” framing the institute’s new name as recognition of his “peace through strength” approach.

“Congratulations, world!” Kelly said.

DAVID MARCUS: THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR MARKS THE END OF AMERICA AS THE WORLD’S POLICEMAN

Secretary Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment in a post responding to the announcement.

“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace,” Rubio wrote. “It’s time our State Department display that.”

The U.S. Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 as a nonpartisan organization supporting conflict-prevention and peace-building efforts abroad. The dismantling and rebranding into a Trump-named entity represents one of the most sweeping agency overhauls of Trump’s second term.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s shutdown effort was unlawful. But the ruling was stayed on appeal, clearing the way for terminations to move forward in July as the administration restructured the agency and continued transferring functions elsewhere.

The institute did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the rebranding or the status of its ongoing legal challenge.

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

An actress and model who moonlights as a DJ and is romantically linked to the leader of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) transnational gang was sanctioned by the Trump administration on Wednesday.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation against Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, also known as Rosita. 

Navarro, a Venezuelan model with millions of social media followers, has helped launder money for TdA along with other entertainers, the department said.

She also helped Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as “Niño Guerrero,” escape from Tocorón prison in Venezuela in 2012, the agency said.

TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’

“Under President Trump, barbaric terrorist cartels can no longer operate with impunity across our borders. The Tren de Aragua network’s narco-trafficking and human smuggling operations have long posed a grave threat to our nation,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. 

“At the direction of President Trump, we will continue to use every tool to cut off these terrorists from the U.S. and global financial system and keep American citizens safe.”

Navarro reportedly performs in nightclubs in Colombia, with a portion of the proceeds from the events going to TdA leadership, the Treasury Department said.

She has also performed at the Bogotá nightclub Maiquetia VIP Bar Restaurant, which is owned by her former bodyguard and manager, Eryk Manuel Landaeta Hernandez. She is additionally a shareholder and the president of a Venezuela-based company, Global Import Solutions S.A.

Hernandez was arrested by Colombian authorities in October 2024. He allegedly organized events featuring international artists and DJs, including Navarro, where drugs were sold for TdA and the proceeds were laundered, authorities said.

MADURO CLAIMS US SEEKS ‘REGIME CHANGE THROUGH MILITARY THREAT’ AMID CARIBBEAN BUILDUP

Hernandez also allegedly laundered money for Guerrero and sanctioned senior TdA leader Mosquera Serrano.

He owns the creative, arts and entertainment services company Eryk Producciones SAS and reportedly served as the gang’s financial and logistics chief in Colombia.

Additional sanctions were levied against TdA leaders Richard Jose Espinal Quintero, Noe Manases Aponte Cordova, and Asdrubal Rafael Escobar Cabrera and Cheison Royer Guerrero Palma, Niño Guerrero’s half-brother, who was expanding the gang’s activity into Chile.

Kenffersso Jhosue Sevilla Arteaga, known as “El Flipper,” was also sanctioned. He was arrested in Cúcuta, Colombia, in November 2025 and “was involved in extortions, kidnappings, and homicides,” the Treasury Department said.

The Trump administration has targeted TdA members in the United States in an effort to deport them to Venezuela.

An April intelligence assessment from the National Intelligence Council said some Venezuelan officials have facilitated the migration of TdA members into the United States.

In February, the gang was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to take its campaign against narco-terrorism directly “on land” inside Venezuela, warning that the Nicolás Maduro regime has already sent “killers, murderers … gang members” and other violent offenders into the U.S. during past years of mass migration.

Speaking in the Oval Office during a Q&A session with reporters, Trump said U.S. forces are escalating operations against the trafficking networks behind the synthetic opioids and narcotics he blames for hundreds of thousands of American deaths.

“We’re knocking out drug boats right now at a level that we haven’t seen,” Trump said. “Very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too.”

The president said American intelligence agencies have mapped the routes, safe houses and production sites used by narcotics manufacturers operating inside Venezuela.

TRUMP SAYS US WILL BEGIN STOPPING VENEZUELAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS BY LAND: ‘GOING TO START VERY SOON’

“We know every route. We know every house. We know where they manufacture this crap, the poison … they’ve been feeding us,” he said. 

Trump has repeatedly accused the Maduro government of weaponizing migration. On Wednesday, he repeated his claim that Venezuela “sent us killers, murderers … drug dealers at the highest level … gang members and people from their mental institutions,” alleging the country had “emptied their prisons into our country.”

He argued that this occurred because the U.S. had previously been run by “stupid people … really stupid people.”

TRUMP ENDS VENEZUELA TALKS, MILITARY OPTIONS LOOM, NEW REPORT

Trump tied the potential escalation to the fentanyl and synthetic opioid crisis, saying traffickers have “been killing our people by the millions. I think last year we lost close to 300,000 people.” 

He said American families devastated by overdoses were demanding a more aggressive response after years of “poison” entering the country through transnational networks.

Trump also confirmed he had spoken only “briefly” with President Maduro and told him “a couple of things.

“We’ll see what happens with that,” Trump said, emphasizing that the pressure campaign underway extends beyond diplomacy.

Trump also defended the decision to strike drug-smuggling vessels and suggested the same standard applied to operators of land-based narcotics hubs.

“I support the decision to knock out the boats,” he said. “Whoever is piloting those boats, they’re guilty of trying to kill people in our country.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Small Business Administration is investigating a network of Somali groups in Minnesota that it says is tied to a massive COVID fraud scandal highlighting alleged systemic failures by Gov. Tim Walz’s team to properly audit public funds.

Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has become embroiled in a scandal that has already led to charges against dozens of people – mostly Somali – and prompted allegations from civil servants in his administration who have spoken of retaliation against whistleblowers and institutional negligence.

“Numerous individuals and nonprofits indicted in the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scandal, including Feeding Our Future, received SBA PPP loans in addition to other state and federal funding,” Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced on X. “I have ordered an investigation into the network of Somali organizations and executives implicated in these schemes.”

‘DOGE’ SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS, AS IG SOUNDS ALARM

She added: “Despite Governor Walz’s best efforts to obstruct, SBA continues to work to expose abuse and hold perpetrators accountable, full stop.”

An SBA spokesperson confirmed the probe to Fox News Digital, saying the agency is “investigating all individuals and organizations indicted as part of the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scheme to identify any that may have also fraudulently obtained PPP loans – evaluating their citizenship status, the legitimacy of their nonprofit work, and other requirements for eligibility.”

“The agency will provide additional details as the scope of fraud across these Somali networks are uncovered – and remains committed to clawing back all funding that was illegally obtained on behalf of American taxpayers,” SBA spokesperson Maggie Clemmons said.

GOP LEADERSHIP UNLEASHES FURY ON DEM GOVERNOR AHEAD OF BLOCKBUSTER CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Somali community in Minnesota was “garbage,” eliciting sharp responses from local officials including Minneapolis Councilman Jamal Osman – who claimed that “everyone knows that our president is racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic.”

Walz did not reply to a Fox News Digital request for comment about Loeffler’s announcement. 

Previously, the governor said he would “welcome” a Treasury Department probe into whether his administration enabled millions of taxpayer dollars to reach Somali terror group Al Shabaab.

“If they want to help us, I welcome that,” Walz said. “Do an investigation, find out. But I don’t think anybody really believes their motive or timing is about actually doing something about this.”

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER FAR-LEFT MAYOR GIVES VICTORY SPEECH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE: ‘HUMILIATING’

A separate report from City Journal, which also broke the Walz story, noted a 2015 study by a House Homeland Security Committee task force found more foreign-fighter terrorism-related travelers came from the Land of 10,000 Lakes than any other state.

Of those charged with seeking to join ISIS at the time, the outlet reported that they were “sophisticated users of social-welfare benefits.”

Two suspects had allegedly used federal financial aid to pay for their travel as they were preparing to depart Howard Beach, N.Y., for Syria.

HOUSE GOP DEMANDS ANSWERS ON BILLIONS IN MEDICAID COSTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Minnesota, however, is far from the only state with PPP troubles.

Federal authorities in 2020 arrested a group of New York nail salon owners near JFK Airport in a scheme that allegedly combined smuggling Vietnamese immigrants for low-wage labor with misappropriating COVID-19 relief funds, according to the New York Post.

Dat Ho, Peter Nguyen and Victoria Ho were charged with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud after allegedly inflating payroll to secure $13 million in PPP loans, according to the New York Post.

BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION FAILED TO RECOUP $200B IN FRAUDULENT COVID LOANS, HOUSE COMMITTEE SAYS

In May, an Iowa man – who was alleged to be a former Cuban military officer who entered the U.S. 20 years ago by crossing the border after a denied visa application – was arrested as a figurehead of an Iowa COVID-benefit fraud ring, according to an indictment statement from the Justice Department.

Yovany Ciero of Mason City was convicted on dozens of counts, including wire fraud, money laundering and engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from a specified unlawful activity.

Prosecutors said Ciero and co-schemers stole an estimated $2.4 million, which entailed more than 100 Cuban immigrants who obtained PPP loans under false pretenses as “self-employed businesspeople” while they worked at the same meatpacking plant.

Authorities say Ciero recruited people for the scheme, and then passed that information to others who submitted the fraudulent loan applications to the feds. He faces up to life imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.