The Florida man suspected of mailing at least 14 pipe bombs to some of US President Donald Trump’s leading critics was yesterday in custody on federal charges, in a case reflecting the rancor of one of the most toxic US election campaigns in decades.
Cesar Sayoc, 56, a part-time pizza deliveryman, grocery worker and former stripper once charged with threatening to bomb an electric company in a billing dispute, was arrested by federal agents outside an auto parts store in Plantation, near Miami, on Friday.
Authorities also seized a white van that Sayoc appeared to have used as his dwelling, its windows plastered with pro-Trump stickers, the slogan “CNN sucks” and images of Democratic leaders with red crosshairs over their faces.
Photo: EPA
Fingerprint and DNA evidence helped identify the suspect, but his arrest did not necessarily end the threat, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a news conference.
Other packages might still be in transit, he said.
Sayoc was charged with five felony counts, including interstate transportation and illegal mailing of explosives, threatening a former US president, making threatening interstate communications and assaulting federal officers.
He was expected to be held at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami and make his first appearance before a judge tomorrow, according to former assistant US attorney David Weinstein.
If convicted, Sayoc could be sentenced up to 48 years in prison, officials said.
Sayoc’s arrest followed a four-day manhunt sparked by the discovery of bombs concealed in packages addressed to leading Democratic figures, including former US president Barack Obama and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who Trump defeated in the 2016 US presidential race.
Some of the parcels also contained photographs of the intended recipients marked with a red X, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court.
The complaint accused Sayoc of sending 13 bombs to 11 individuals, starting with billionaire Democratic donor George Soros.
A 14th package was found on Friday at a post office outside San Francisco addressed to another wealthy contributor to the Democratic Party and liberal causes, Tom Steyer.
The bombs were sent in manila envelopes lined with bubble wrap, and consisted of plastic 15cm pipes packed with explosive material and wired to small clocks and batteries, the complaint said.
Investigators had yet to determine whether the bombs were “functional,” Wray said.
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