Bomb found at philanthropist George Soros’ suburban home

A bomb was found in a mailbox at the suburban New York home of George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist who has been denounced by President Donald Trump and vilified by right-wing conspiracy theorists, authorities said Tuesday.

Federal agents safely detonated the device after being summoned Monday by a security officer at the compound, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) north of Manhattan. It was not clear whether the 88-year-old Soros was home at the time.

Laura Silber, a spokeswoman for Soros’ Open Society Foundations, blamed the country’s toxic political environment.

“The hateful rhetoric that dominates politics in the U.S. and in so many countries around the world breeds extremism and violence,” she said in a statement. “In this climate of fear, falsehoods and rising authoritarianism, just voicing your views can draw death threats.”

Federal investigators were reviewing surveillance video to determine whether the package containing the bomb had been sent through the mail or delivered some other way, officials said. They said it was unclear if the parcel was addressed to Soros.

A federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation said the device contained explosive powder.

Another federal official who also spoke on condition of anonymity said it resembled a pipe bomb and was in a package placed in a mailbox outside the gates of the compound.

A Soros employee opened it just inside the gates, nowhere near Soros’ quarters, the official said.

Silber would not comment on Soros’ whereabouts at the time.

Soros, a Hungarian immigrant to the U.S. who made his fortune in hedge funds, frequently donates to liberal causes and has pledged to invest a half-billion dollars to programs that help people who flee their home countries because of civil war, poverty or political oppression.