• Bomb suspect described as ‘loner’ with long arrest record.
Fla. man had little interest in politics until Trump ran
WASHINGTON — Cesar Sayoc is an amateur body builder and former male stripper, a loner with a long arrest record who showed little interest in politics until Donald Trump came along.
On Friday, he was identified by authorities as the Florida man who put pipe bombs in small manila envelopes, affixed six stamps and sent them to some of Mr. Trump’s most prominent critics.
Records show Mr. Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, has a history of financial problems and extensive record of past arrests, including a stint served on probation for making a bomb threat. He was born in New York City and attended college in North Carolina before moving to the Miami suburbs in the late 1980s.
Florida voter records show he first registered in March 2016 as a Republican and cast a ballot in that November’s heated presidential election. Mr. Sayoc’s social media accounts are peppered with memes supporting Mr. Trump, denigrating Democrats, and promoting conspiracy theories about George Soros, the billionaire political donor who was the first targeted this week by a package bomb.
Mr. Sayoc has also tweeted and posted on Facebook videos that appear to show him at Trump rallies.
At the auto parts store in Plantation, Fla., where Mr. Sayoc was swarmed by officers and arrested on Friday, authorities towed away a white van covered with stickers supporting Mr. Trump and criticizing media outlets that included CNN, the news channel also targeted by a mail bomb this week.
“He has been a loner,” Lenny Altieri, Mr. Sayoc’s cousin, told The Associated Press on Friday. He confirmed that Mr. Sayoc had been a stripper.
Court records in Florida show that Mr. Sayoc was arrested in 2002 and served a year of probation for a felony charge of threatening to throw or place a bomb. Court records available online did not immediately provide further details about the case, but his lawyer in the case told the AP the case involved a heated conversation with a Florida utility representative.
Ronald Lowy, a Miami attorney, said Mr. Sayoc became frustrated about a lack of service and told a Florida Power and Light employee “something to the effect that you’re not taking care of my problem and I bet you would if I threw a bomb at you.” Mr. Lowy said Mr. Sayoc showed no ability at the time to back up his threat with any bomb-making expertise. The lawyer said Mr. Sayoc is “a confused man who had trouble controlling his emotions.”
Florida records show Mr. Sayoc was also convicted in 2014 for grand theft and misdemeanor theft of less than $300, and in 2013 for battery. In 2004, he faced several felony charges for unlawful possession of a synthetic anabolic steroid often used to help build muscles. He also had several arrests on theft charges in the 1990s and faced a felony charge for obtaining fraudulent refunds and a misdemeanor count of tampering with physical evidence.
Mr. Lowy said he recalled that Mr. Sayoc also had a run-in with authorities over possession of steroids and another case in Broward County where he was charged with possessing a fake driver’s license after altering his birth date to make him appear younger.
Mr. Lowy said Mr. Sayoc displayed no political leanings at the time except for plastering a vehicle he owned with Native American signs. Mr. Lowy said Mr. Sayoc told him his father was Native American. More recently, Mr. Sayoc described himself on social media as being affiliated with the Seminole Warriors boxing club. However, his cousin said Mr. Sayoc’s mother was Italian and his biological father was Filipino.
Mr. Sayoc’s name is listed on business records tied to dry cleaning and catering businesses. Records suggest he also had recent financial problems, including losing his home in foreclosure in 2009 and filling for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2012.
Court files show Mr. Sayoc completed a financial management course and was discharged from his debts in September 2012. Mr. Sayoc’s mother, Madeline, was not immediately available to respond to phone messages left with her by the AP. Mr. Sayoc’s bankruptcy attorney, Christian Olson, declined to comment.
Christie Cauble, interim director of communications at Brevard College in North Carolina, said Mr. Sayoc enrolled at the school in 1980 and attended through three semesters. At the time, Brevard was a two-year school, and Ms. Cauble said Mr. Sayoc didn’t graduate.
He then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, enrolling for the 1983-84 academic year. He played a few games as a walk-on player for the university’s men’s soccer team.
A Twitter account that appears to belong to Mr. Sayoc, @hardrock2016, includes memes denouncing Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, including a photo of Mr. Soros made to look like he’s holding a puppet that resembles Mr. Gillum.
Other posts called Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg “fake phony.” He posted memes repeatedly attacking Mr. Hogg in July. He also called Florida Gov. Rick Scott “greatest Governor Ever” in a posting that shows the Republican governor alongside Mr. Trump.
In June, he praised Mr. Trump in a birthday message saying: “Happy Birthday President Donald J. Trump the greatest result President ever.”