Florida man arrested in connection with pipe bombs sent to Trump critics

Soon after officials announced the arrest of Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., who is accused of sending pipe bombs to prominent Democratic figures, cable news offered the first window into the Florida man’s state of mind when they aired footage of his vehicle: a white van covered in pro-Trump and anti-media and anti-liberal imagery.

And like social media accounts that were allegedly run by Sayoc, his van was a platform to show his support of President Donald Trump that verged on the obsessive, and to denigrate Trump’s perceived opposition — some of whom would receive bombs in the mail.

President Donald Trump opened a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday decrying “political violence” after pipe bomb suspect Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. was charged with sending bombs to 13 prominent Democrats and critics of the president. But that nonpartisan message didn’t last long: He then transitioned into a regular Trump rally, complete with the typical “lock her up” chants and attacks on the media.

Trump has offered a dissatisfying response to the bombs sent to figures such as former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and news outlet CNN this week. He seems to recognize that a typical presidential response would be to call for unity and denounce violence, but he can’t stay away from some of his divisive rhetoric.

Federal authorities have charged a suspect with sending pipe bombs to 13 prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump: Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., a 56-year-old Florida man.

Sayoc’s fingerprint was found on an envelope containing one of the bombs, and the investigation also found “a possible DNA connection,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference Friday afternoon. Wray and other federal officials gave no indication that there might be other suspects or accomplices in the case.

Update: Pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc’s apparent Twitter accounts were banned after he was arrested, so the tweets in this article can no longer load.

On Friday, police arrested Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Florida in connection to the pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats around the country.

During a press conference Friday announcing the arrest of alleged mail bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr., FBI Director Christopher Wray made it clear that the devices sent to Democratic figures, billionaire philanthropist George Soros, and prominent critics of President Donald Trump were “not hoax devices” — a comment that should put to rest a simmering right-wing theory about the bomber’s motivations.

Wrap said that the devices contained “energetic material” that could have potentially exploded if exposed to heat, shock, or friction. “Though we’re still analyzing these devices in our laboratory, these were not hoax devices.”

After explosive devices were sent to prominent critics of President Donald Trump, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and former CIA Director John Brennan (via CNN’s New York headquarters), many on the far right and even some people with close ties to the White House had a theory of the case: The bombing attempts on prominent liberals were ginned up by the left to help them win the midterms.

On Friday, even President Trump appeared to hint at this argument, saying that in the midst of Republicans “doing so well” in early voting, “now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows” — with “bomb” in quotes.

As the total number of suspicious packages sent to Democrats and other Trump critics ticked up to 12 on Friday, President Donald Trump had a new message: The pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats, including two former presidents, were a distraction from his midterms message.

“Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics,” Trump tweeted. “Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!”

Since Monday, the authorities have recovered 12 “suspicious packages” containing explosive devices meant for prominent American liberals.

A trail of pipe bombs on the East Coast — and in one occasion, the West Coast — have targeted former presidents, administration officials, an actor and a billionaire, all tied in some way to the Democratic Party — and all proven critics of President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump sounded more somber than usual as he kicked off a Mosinee, Wisconsin, rally on Wednesday. It didn’t take him long to turn a call for unity in the face of political violence into a jab at the media and an allusion to Democratic “mobs.”

The news of the day was dominated by attempts to send pipe bombs to high-profile Democrats — including former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA Director John Brennan, and billionaire and philanthropist George Soros. All were sent packages containing “potentially destructive devices.” (The package addressed to Brennan was sent to CNN, and the package addressed to Holder ended up at the Florida office of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former Democratic National Committee chair.)

After Wednesday afternoon’s speech urging calm and condemning political violence, President Donald Trump is back to his old tricks Thursday morning, suggesting that his critics in the media are responsible for the atmosphere of conflict and violence that led to bombs being sent to two living former Democratic Party presidents, progressive donor George Soros, and CNN (addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who is a commentator on NBC and MSNBC).

According to Trump, “the Anger we see today in our society” is caused not by his own demagogic politics but rather “by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News.”

Packages with bombs were sent to the offices of former President Barack Obama and CNN, as well as the homes of Hillary and Bill Clinton and billionaire George Soros.

The nation watched on Wednesday as law enforcement dealt with the suspicious packages. No one was hurt, and authorities are investigating who is responsible. It will likely be a complex investigation: Officials must figure out where the packages came from, who bought the materials to make the explosives, and where they were put together.

During a short, staid address to the nation on the state of a string of attempted bombings of political figures, President Trump called on Americans to “unify and send a clear message that acts of political violence have no place in the United States.”

His words were remarkably presidential. He definitively condemned the violence and clearly described the federal investigation underway, promising any resources necessary.

A bomb was found in the mailbox of billionaire philanthropist George Soros — the subject of rampant conspiracy theories and threats from the conspiratorial right — on Monday.

Law enforcement officials in Bedford, New York, told the New York Times that an employee working at Soros’s home found the package in the mailbox and called police, who “proactively detonated” the device. Law enforcement later told the Associated Press that the device was “a bomb with explosive powder.” Soros was not at home at the time the bomb was discovered.