Mail bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc is facing life in prison after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on 30 charges on Friday.
Sayoc, 56, was charged with offenses related to his alleged execution of a "domestic terrorist attack" last month, officials said. Over the course of five days, he allegedly sent 13 improvised explosive devices to 16 individuals—most of them prominent Democrats or frequent targets of President Donald Trump.
"Cesar Sayoc allegedly targeted former high-ranking officials such as President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others, as well as CNN, by sending explosive packages to them through the U.S. Postal Service," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement. "Sayoc’s alleged conduct put numerous lives at risk. It was also an assault on a nation that values the rule of law, a free press, and tolerance of differences without rancor or resort to violence."
The first pipe bomb was sent to a mailbox near the Westchester home of George Soros on October 23rd. The following morning, a string of similar packages were discovered across the country, including one which was found in the mailroom of CNN's midtown headquarters.
Sayoc was ultimately arrested on October 26th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, thanks to forensic evidence recovered by the FBI on 11 of the bombs. Officials say that Sayoc also used his phone to conduct a range of misspelled internet searches, like "hilary Clinton hime address" and "address kamila harrias."
Sayoc is a registered Republican with a lengthy criminal history, including a past arrest for making a bomb threat in 2002. According to his social media profiles, he's also a fervent Trump supporter, who's often threatened violence against those the president vilifies. A white van that Sayoc reportedly lived out of was also covered in pro-Trump decals, and featured stickers of Trump critics with gun sights superimposed on their faces.
Friday's indictment concerns the five devices that were sent in New York—to the Clintons, Soros, Robert De Niro, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Sayoc faces five counts of each of the six charges: use of a weapon of mass destruction, interstate transportation and receipt of an explosive, threatening interstate communications, illegal mailing of explosives, use of explosives to commit a felony, and use of a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.
He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted, and does not have any scheduled court appearances as of right now.
