Police and federal authorities have taken into custody Cesar Sayoc, of Aventura, Florida, in connection with a series of pipe bombs delivered to current and former Democratic officials. Sayoc is 56 years old, and has been identified as a registered Republican with a criminal record that includes being previously investigated for bomb threats.
An eleventh bomb was located on Friday morning, targeted at Senator Cory Booker. A twelfth bomb was aimed at former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The Clapper bomb, like an earlier bomb addressed to John Brennan, was addressed to the offices of CNN.
A thirteenth device, addressed to Senator Kamala Harris’s offices in California, is being investigated and may be connected.
In arresting Sayoc, authorities have also taken into custody a white van covered in political stickers. These stickers celebrate Trump and also include images and phrases directed at some of the targets of the bombs including one that says “CNN sucks” and pictures of President Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and others with cross-hairs over their images.
Donald Trump spoke briefly about the arrest on Friday afternoon. In his speech, he did not say the word “bomb,” did not name any of the targets of the attacks, and even shied away from saying CNN by just saying “a media organization.” Trump also used vague language in describing the suspect, saying “whoever they may be” although he had been briefed on the man in custody.
Throughout the series of bombings, Trump has refused to name any of the targets, and has not reached out to any of those threatened. White House sources have indicated that he does not intend to do so.
More information about Sayoc and his involvement with right-wing politics is continuing to surface, including images that show the suspect at Trump events before the election. Meanwhile, Fox News and right-wing media has continued to claim that these bombs are a “false flag” operation. Earlier in the day, Trump joined this conspiracy theory, suggesting that the bombs were intended to slow “Republican momentum.”
