U.S. Detains Man in Probe of Mail Bombs Targeting Democrats and CNN

(Bloomberg) -- A man is now in custody in connection with the mailing of suspected explosive devices that targeted high-profile Democrats including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.

“I am pleased to inform you that law enforcement has apprehended the suspect and taken him into custody,” President Donald Trump said in comments at the White House. He said “these terrorizing acts are despicable” and vowed prosecution to “the fullest extent of the law.”

The suspect is a man in his 50s who was arrested near an AutoZone store in Plantation, Florida, and was being questioned by FBI agents, according to the Miami Herald. Television images from the scene showed a white van being loaded onto a flatbed truck by law enforcement officers. The van was covered in pro-Trump and right-wing stickers.

The suspect was identified as Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Florida, according to the Associated Press, which cited three law enforcement officials it didn’t name.

Sayoc has a record of arrests and criminal convictions, including a 2002 arrest for making a bomb threat, according to court records. He filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012, citing $21,000 in debts and saying he lived with his mother. He registered to vote as a Republican in March 2016.

More details were expected to be disclosed at a Justice Department news conference in Washington at 2:30 p.m.

A dozen packages containing the devices have been intercepted by authorities so far. The intended recipients have all been targets of conservative vitriol, with the most recent packages discovered addressed to New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The first device was found Monday after being delivered to the home of billionaire financier George Soros.

Trump was briefed on the developments Friday by Chief of Staff John Kelly and law enforcement officials, according to a White House spokesman.

After initially calling for national unity this week as the suspected mail bombs were discovered, Trump began blaming the media for fostering divisiveness in the country. On Friday, he singled out cable network CNN -- which also was targeted by the suspected mail bombs.

“Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, ‘it’s just not Presidential!”’ Trump said on Twitter hours before the suspect was detained.

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