DNA leads to bombs arrest
Fervent Trump fan and former stripper has criminal history
Federal authorities yesterday captured a Florida man with a criminal history and fervour for President Donald Trump and accused him of sending at least 13 mail bombs to prominent Democrats, capping a nationwide search in a case that spread fear of election-season violence with little precedent in the US.
Justice Department officials announced five federal charges against Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Florida, and revealed that DNA and a fingerprint found on an envelope package helped them identify the suspect after a five-day, coast-to-coast investigation.
FBI officials did not disclose a motive, although Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested politics may have played a role, noting Sayoc appeared to be a “partisan”.
Those who saw him in the neighbourhood, unmistakable in a white van plastered with Trump’s image and political stickers, described him as unsettling and troubled.
Sayoc’s social media profiles portray a deeply disaffected conservative who trafficked in online conspiracy theories, parody accounts and name-calling.
He called a Florida school shooting survivor a “fake phony”, peddled theories about George Soros, the billionaire political donor targeted this week by a package bomb and denigrated other Democrats who
were later the intended recipients of explosive packages.
An amateur body builder and former stripper who once spent time on probation for a bomb threat charge, Sayoc registered as a Republican voter just ahead of the March 2016 Republican primary and quickly identified himself as a proud Trump supporter, tweeting and posting on Facebook videos that appear to show him at Trump rallies. He appeared to be living in his van. Sayoc’s arrest was a major breakthrough in the nationwide manhunt after the discovery of explosive devices — none of which detonated — addressed to prominent Democrats and other frequent targets of conservative ire, including former President Barack Obama, former Vice-President Joe Biden, Hillary
Clinton and the cable network CNN.
Yesterday, packages addressed to New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper were intercepted.
Investigators in California scrutinised a package sent to Democratic Senator Kamala Harris, her office said, and one sent to Tom Steyer, a billionaire businessman who has campaigned for Trump’s impeachment.
FBI and police worked swiftly to untangle clues this week as the packages mounted, sometimes several in the same day.
The big break came when a fingerprint found on one of the packages, intended for California Representative Maxine Waters, matched a fingerprint of Sayoc’s on file with Florida authorities.
DNA from a device intended for Obama similarly matched the suspect’s DNA, the FBI said. Misspellings from his online posts also matched mistakes on the packages.