| 2018 United States mail bombing attempts | |
|---|---|
 One of the envelopes that contained explosives[1] | |
| Location | United States |
| Date | October 22, 2018 (2018-10-22) – November 1, 2018 (2018-11-01) |
| Target | CNN and thirteen Democratic Party members and prominent critics ofU.S. PresidentDonald Trump[2][3] |
Attack type | Attemptedmail bombings,domestic terrorism |
| Weapons | Pipe bombs |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrator | Cesar Sayoc Jr.[4] |
| Motive | Pro-Trump,far-right extremism(see also§ Motives) |
From October 22 to November 1, 2018, 16 packages found to containpipe bombs weremailed via theU.S. Postal Service to severalDemocratic Party politicians and other prominent critics ofU.S. PresidentDonald Trump. Targets included formerU.S. PresidentBarack Obama, formerU.S. Vice PresidentJoe Biden, and formerSecretary of StateHillary Clinton.
Other people who were sent packages included three Democraticmembers of Congress: RepresentativeMaxine Waters, SenatorsCory Booker andKamala Harris; former U.S. Attorney GeneralEric Holder, two former intelligence chiefs: ex-CIA DirectorJohn Brennan and ex-Director of National IntelligenceJames Clapper; two billionaire Democratic donors and activists:George Soros andTom Steyer; and actorRobert De Niro.[2][5][6][7] One package was addressed only toCNN and sent to itsworld headquarters.[8][9][10]
TheFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies coordinated their investigations of the attempted bombings.[2] All sixteen confirmed bombs sent wereimprovised explosive devices,[11] though none had a trigger mechanism.[12] None of the devices exploded outside a controlled setting.[13]
Cesar Altieri Sayoc, Jr. was arrested in Florida on October 26, held without bail, and charged with five federal crimes the following week.[14][15] The FBI investigated the case asdomestic terrorism.[16] On March 21, 2019, Sayoc pleaded guilty to 65 felony counts, including using weapons of mass destruction in an attempted domestic terrorist attack. He was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison on August 5, 2019, and will be eligible for release as early as November 10, 2035.[17]
The first suspicious package containing such a device was found in the mailbox at the home of Democratic donorGeorge Soros inKatonah, New York.[18] Soros, who isregularly the subject of conspiracy theories and threats by right-wing extremists, was absent. The employee who found the device carried it to a wooded area, where bomb squad officers safely detonated it.[19]
A package containing a device, addressed to former U.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clinton (misspelled as "Hilary"), was intercepted by theSecret Service during a mail screening inChappaqua, New York.[20][21] A former U.S. Senator from New York and the First Lady of former PresidentBill Clinton, she was PresidentDonald Trump's main opponent in the2016 U.S. presidential election.
A device addressed to former PresidentBarack Obama was intercepted by theSecret Service during a mail screening inWashington, D.C.[20]
Additionally, a package containing an explosive and suspicious powder was found in CNN's mail room in theTime Warner Center inNew York City, addressed to former CIA DirectorJohn Brennan (misspelled as "Brenan").[22] CNN reported that law enforcement said the package was delivered by courier.[23] Brennan has served as a senior national security and intelligence analyst forNBC News andMSNBC since February 2018, but has also appeared on CNN.[24] The bomb alarm occurred duringCNN Newsroom withPoppy Harlow andJim Sciutto.[25] Along with their colleaguesKate Bolduan and Athena Jones, reporters Harlow and Sciutto left the building, but continued to report viaSkype over acellphone line.[26][27][28]
A suspicious package addressed to U.S. RepresentativeMaxine Waters was intercepted byUnited States Capitol Police.[23][29] Another suspicious package addressed to Waters resulted in the evacuation of a U.S. Postal Service facility in Los Angeles.[30]
A package addressed to former U.S. Attorney GeneralEric Holder, with a bad address, was returned to the purported sender, the office of formerDemocratic National Committee Chairwoman and current U.S. RepresentativeDebbie Wasserman Schultz inSunrise, Florida.[23][31]
In the early morning hours, a package was found inTribeca, New York City, addressed to actor, producer and directorRobert De Niro, via his companyTribeca Productions. De Niro had previously expressed criticism of Trump.[32]
Authorities also found a package inNew Castle, Delaware, addressed to then former Vice PresidentJoe Biden with his full name, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. It was returned to the post office due to insufficient postage, and examined because of the other packages.[33] A second package intended for Biden, but addressed incorrectly, was found at a facility inWilmington, Delaware.[33]TheMiami-Dade Police Department and federal authorities believed that several of the packages would have passed through a mail processing and distribution center inOpa-locka, Florida; they searched the facility for evidence with a bomb squad andK-9 unit.[34]
Authorities found four packages similar to previous packages. One addressed to former National Intelligence DirectorJames Clapper (which, like the one sent to John Brennan, had CNN's Time Warner Center address) was found in a New York City postal facility, while another, addressed to U.S. SenatorCory Booker, was found in a Florida postal facility.[35]
Authorities also found a bomb addressed to then-U.S. SenatorKamala Harris inSacramento, California. A device addressed to billionaireTom Steyer, a Democratic donor who frequently appeared in ads encouraging Congress to impeach President Trump on CNN, was intercepted by a postal worker at a sorting facility inBurlingame, California.[36]
CNN PresidentJeff Zucker issued an alert to employees that a suspicious package sent to theCNN Center was found at a post office inAtlanta,Georgia.[9]Jim Sciutto posted a picture of the package on Twitter and it was similar to the others.[10] Unlike the other two sent to CNN, it was not addressed to a specific person.[8] President Trump has frequently criticized CNN and its employees in derogatory terms.[37][38]
A second package addressed to Steyer was intercepted at the same postal facility in Burlingame, California.[39]
According toThe New York Times, the device sent to Soros's house was constructed from a length of PVC pipe about six inches (150 mm) long, filled with explosive powder. It was proactively detonated bybomb squad technicians.[40] Authorities reported that the devices recovered on October 24 were packed with shards of glass.[41] A law enforcement official told reporters that the devices sent to Clinton and Obama were similar in design to the one that was sent to Soros.[42] According to theAssociated Press, a law enforcement official said tests have determined that white powder found inside an envelope delivered to CNN, along with a pipe bomb, was not viable.[43][44] The bombs contained pyrotechnic powder but lacked a triggering mechanism; the FBI described them as "potentially destructive devices."[45] Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that the devices contained batteries and timers but were not rigged to explode when they were opened. The officials said they were still trying to determine if the devices were shoddily constructed or simply intended as threats to sow fear.[46]
At a press conference following the arrest of the suspect, FBI DirectorChristopher Wray described the bombs asimprovised explosive devices, stating that they were "not hoax devices".[47]
All of the devices were sent in yellow manila envelopes lined with bubble wrap. They each had a printed address label and sixForever stamps,[40] as well as the return address of U.S. RepresentativeDebbie Wasserman Schultz's office inSunrise, Florida. All of the return addresses contained the same spelling errors: Schultz was misspelled "Shultz" and Florida was misspelled "Florids".[31] Each set of labels was typed in all capital letters. The packages were furnished with ameme parody of theISIL flag with the inscription "Git 'Er [sic] Done",[48] a catchphrase of standup comedianLarry the Cable Guy.[49] Photographs of the packages meant for CNN were posted to Twitter by staffers forJim Sciutto andJim Acosta.[22][50][10]
The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from theUnited States Secret Service, theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); theUnited States Postal Inspection Service, the New York City,Los Angeles,Miami-Dade, andAtlanta police departments; and other law enforcement agencies.[31][34][51] Images of envelopes taken by theU.S. Postal Service'sMail Isolation Control and Tracking system have been examined as part of the investigation.[2]
Several of the mail bomb packages were sent to theFBI Laboratory inQuantico, Virginia, for inspection.[2] A fingerprint found on one of the packages andDNA on two other packages pointed to Sayoc as the suspect.[52] He was identified through video surveillance near a South Florida post office, and located by tracking his cell phone.[53] On October 26, Sayoc was arrested in the parking lot of anAutoZone store inPlantation, Florida,[54][55] in connection with the series of explosive devices sent to several individuals.[56][57][58]
Cesar Sayoc Jr. | |
|---|---|
 A mugshot of Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. in 2015 | |
| Born | Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. (1962-03-17)March 17, 1962 (age 63) |
| Education | Brevard College University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated atFederal Correctional Institution, Butner Medium II, earliest possible release date November 10, 2035 |
| Criminal charge | 65, including:
|
| Penalty | 20 years imprisonment |
Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. (born March 17, 1962)[59] was born inBrooklyn and moved to Florida as a child.[60] His father is aFilipino immigrant and his mother was born inthe Bronx, ofItalian descent.[61][62] His fatherabandoned him and his mother when Sayoc was a child.[63]
Sayoc graduated fromNorth Miami Beach High School in 1980.[60] He attendedBrevard College for three semesters starting that year and transferred to theUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1983 where he played on the school's soccer team but did not declare a major.[64]
His last known address was that of his mother's house inAventura, Florida, but Sayoc was living in his van at the time of his arrest.[58][65]
Sayoc has a long criminal history.[66] In 2002, he pleaded guilty to calling in abomb threat toFlorida Power & Light.[67][68] He was also arrested on multiple occasions for charges that included theft, battery, and drug possession, with convictions in 1991, 2013, and 2014.[69]
State records list Sayoc as connected to two, now-inactiveHallandale Beach businesses: Proud Native American One Low Price Drycleaning in 2001 and, more recently, at Native American Catering & Vending LLC in 2016.[60] Sayoc's home was foreclosed in 2009 and he filedChapter 7 bankruptcy in 2012 after accumulating debts of more than $21,000.[64]
Sayoc is a bodybuilder and has usedanabolic steroids. He has made numerous false claims about himself and his background. He claimed during a 2014 deposition that he played soccer forA.C. Milan and arena football for theArizona Rattlers, which both teams have denied. He claimed to have been a popular stripper, an owner of a strip club, and partner inChippendales; the company says he never worked there and "has never been affiliated in any way with Chippendales".[70]
At the time of his 2012 bankruptcy, Sayoc said he was employed as a store manager of Hassanco Investments inHollywood, Florida.[60] From January 2017 to January 2018, he worked part time making deliveries for a pizzeria inFort Lauderdale.[71] At the time of his arrest, he was working as a DJ and doorman at aWest Palm Beach strip club.[72]
Sayoc is a registeredRepublican.[56][57][58] He registered with the Republican Party on March 4, 2016.[73] Sayoc filmed himself wearing aMAGA hat at one of the president's rallies.[74] Sayoc was active onTwitter andFacebook, where since 2016 he was known for his extreme views and frequently posted pro-Trump and anti-liberal messages and memes, as well asright-wingconspiracy theories and stories fromInfoWars,WorldNetDaily, andBreitbart News.[75][76]
Ilya Somin, a libertarian-leaning law professor atGeorge Mason University and a scholar at theCato Institute, reported that he was the subject of death threats from Sayoc made onFacebook in April 2018. According to Somin, after he appeared on a Fox News interview criticizing those who hold anti-immigration views, Sayoc (using an alias) posted on his Facebook and threatened to kill Somin and his family and "feed the bodies to Florida alligators". At the time, Somin's Facebook friends reported the comments to Facebook, which did not respond except for automated messages. Somin also reported the incident to George Mason University police andArlington, Virginia law enforcement.[77]
Democratic strategist Rochelle Ritchie had also received a threatening tweet from Sayoc on October 11 that said: "Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you home". WhileTwitter (nowX) initially failed to act on this, Sayoc's accounts were permanently suspended after his arrest and Twitter representatives have since apologized to Ritchie.[78]
Sayoc's van was seized by law enforcement when he was apprehended. It was covered with images of Donald Trump and Vice PresidentMike Pence, along with a sticker that read "CNN Sucks".[79][69][80][81][82] Some posters also supported the "unconqueredSeminoles", aNative American tribe that was historically based in Florida; two federally recognized tribes are there, and another in Oklahoma. Sayoc has been described as proudly claiming Native American heritage,[69] but theSeminole Tribe of Florida said there was no record of his being a member or employee of the tribe.[83][79][54] Other stickers on the van showed Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, documentarianMichael Moore, CNN commentator and hostVan Jones, and 2016Green Party U.S. presidential candidateJill Stein with gunsightcrosshair designs on their faces.[84] Moore said onLate Night with Seth Meyers on November 2 that the FBI had visited his home to inform him that Sayoc had conducted extensive research on him, according to his computer records.[85]
Reports indicate that "soldering equipment, stamps, envelopes, paper, a printer and powder" were found in Sayoc's van, suggesting that he could have built bombs in it.[65] Law enforcement officials told reporters that Sayoc had a "hit list" of more than 100 people in his van; they informed persons on the list but have not released the names publicly.[86] Sayoc reportedly told officials the bombs were harmless and that he did not want to hurt anyone.[15]
Following his arrest, Sayoc was charged with five federal crimes:[66] interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of explosives,threats against former presidents and certain other persons, threatening interstate communications, and assaulting federal officers.[87] The charges were filed by federal prosecutors of theU.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).[88] Prosecutors from the SDNY said electronic devices owned by Sayoc had data showing that he began planning the attacks in July 2018.[89]
Sayoc was arraigned in Miami on October 29, 2018, and his court-assigned lawyer entered a plea of not guilty.[15] Three days later, he was ordered to be transferred to New York for trial.[90] On November 6, 2018, a New York judge ordered Sayoc to be held without bail in theMetropolitan Correctional Center, New York.[91]
On March 21, 2019, Sayoc pleaded guilty to 65 felony counts, including usingweapons of mass destruction in an attempted domestic terrorist attack. In court, Sayoc stated: "I sent all 16 devices with the intent to threaten or intimidate. I know these actions were wrong."[4] Sayoc said that he did not intend for the bombs to explode, but "was aware of the risk that [they could] explode."[4]
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on August 5, 2019.[17] During sentencing, JudgeJed S. Rakoff stated that the bombs were purposely designed not to explode or cause anyone damage. Bomb experts agreed that Sayoc's packages were not configured to detonate.[92] In sentencing Sayoc, Rakoff said he had concluded that Sayoc was capable of concocting a pipe bomb that could explode and had consciously chosen not to.[93]
In a filing by the defense on July 22, 2019, Sayoc's attorneys said he had "lost everything in theGreat Recession", had "cognitive limitations and severelearning disabilities", and was "abandoned by his father andsexually abused by a teacher at his Catholic school." They said that he suffered from "anxiety andparanoia" and that he "came to believe that prominent Democrats were actively working to hurt him". They also said he was an avidFox News viewer (especially the showsFox & Friends andHannity) and on social media, he "promoted variousconspiracy theories, and more generally, the idea that Trump's critics were dangerous, unpatriotic, and evil."[94] At sentencing, Sayoc said before he mailed the bombs his idea "first was how to tone down the liberal left violence platform." He wrote that he believed prominent Democrats were encouraging violence, and said that he had been attacked personally.[92]
On October 22, 2019, Sayoc began serving his 20-year sentence atUnited States Penitentiary, Marion. In February 2022, Sayoc was transferred fromMarion, Illinois to theFCI Butner Medium II inButner, North Carolina. He is now located atFCI Coleman Low inSumterville, Florida. His earliest possible release date is November 10, 2035.[95][better source needed]
Hillary Clinton thanked the Secret Service for intercepting the package and during a political event in Florida on behalf of Congressional candidateDonna Shalala she stated "Every day we are grateful for their commitment, and obviously never more than today, but it is a troubling time isn't it? And it's a time of deep divisions, and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together."[96] John Brennan pointed directly to Trump's rhetoric, saying that Trump "fuels these feelings and sentiments that now are bleeding over into potential acts of violence ... Unfortunately, I think Donald Trump, too often, has helped to incite some of these feelings of anger, if not violence, when he points to acts of violence or also talks about, you know, swinging at somebody from the press or the media."[96]
Several sources pointed out that some of the targets of the mailings, such as Clinton and Waters, are people that Trump routinely attacks at his campaign rallies – his "favorite punching bags."[97][98] New York MayorBill de Blasio described the packages as "an act of terror" and stated that all politicians must stop encouraging attacks on media.[99] Biden said of the attempts, "we've got to turn off this hate machine."[100] Wasserman Schultz responded saying, "We will not be intimidated by this attempted act of violence. This appalling attack on our democracy must be vigorously prosecuted, and I am deeply disturbed by the way my name was used."[101] Waters said, "I don't know whether the bombs are real or not, but we should not crawl under the bed, close the doors, not go out, be afraid to go to rallies. We have to keep to doing what we're doing in order to make this country right; that's what I intend to do, and as the young people say, I ain't scared."[102]
Trump held a midterm campaign rally inMosinee, Wisconsin, on October 24, during the height of the mailings. He said of the bombings:
My highest duty, as you know, as President, is to keep America safe. That's what we talk about. That's what we do. The federal government is conducting an aggressive investigation and we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice. Hopefully very quickly. Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy, itself. No nation can succeed that tolerates violence or the threat of violence as a method of political intimidation, coercion, or control. We all know that. Such conduct must be fiercely opposed and firmly prosecuted. We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. It will happen.[103]
The next day, Trump claimed on Twitter that themainstream media were largely responsible for anger present in American society.[104] His comments were echoed by formerWhite House Press SecretarySarah Huckabee Sanders, who said that Trump had urged the public to come together and had sent a very clear, strong unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence had no standing in the United States. Sanders then attackedstatements by CNN PresidentJeff Zucker, claiming that he "chose to attack and divide."[105] Trump also tweeted against the media, on October 24, stating, "Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blame me for the current state of Bombs [sic] and ridiculously comparing this toSeptember 11th and theOklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, 'it's just not Presidential! [sic]'"[106]
Appearing before a group of young black conservatives an hour after the arrest, Trump praised the swift action by law enforcement and promised "swift and certain justice." He added, "We must never allow political violence to take root in America. We cannot let it happen. I am committed to do everything in my power as president to stop it and stop it now." A few minutes later he attacked Democrats and the media, to cheers from the crowd.[107] Later in the day he told reporters that he was in no way to blame for the attacks and had no plans to do anything differently. Asked if he might tone down his rhetoric in response to the mail bombs, he replied, "Tone down, no. Could tone up. I think I've been toned down, if you want to know the truth."[108]
On October 26, Trump claimed that news coverage of the pipe bombs targeting Democratic politicians and critics of his policies had drowned out other news stories and slowed Republican voting in themid-term election. He tweeted, "Republicans were doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this 'Bomb' stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows – news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on."[109]
CNN PresidentJeff Zucker said about the mailings, "There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The president, and especially the White House press secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that."[110] Zucker later stated that all mail sent to any CNN building will now be screened offsite.[8] CNN also reported that the bombings were one of three hate-motivated incidents that took place in the United States the same week, along with shootings ina synagogue in Pittsburgh anda Kroger grocery store in Jeffersontown, Kentucky.[111]
Following the news of the events, the hashtag "#MAGABomber" began trending onTwitter, referring to Trump's 2016 campaign slogan, "MAGA" (Make America Great Again).[112][113]
The incident has been the subject of conspiracy theories saying the events are part of afalse flag operation, that the attacks were staged by those who hoped to cast the blame on Trump supporters.[114] When the incidents were first reported, conservatives such as columnistKurt Schlichter and conspiracy theorist and radio hostAlex Jones issued social media posts and articles throughInfoWars to assert their belief that the incidents were false flags, a "super convenient turn of events", and a potential "political stunt". Many of the comments were deleted as more information was received about the case.[115]
After having been started by overtly conspiracist outlets, the false flag narrative was later picked up by some mainstream conservatives.[116][117] CommentatorRush Limbaugh said that Republicans could not be responsible for the packages, that "Republicans just don't do this kind of thing. Even though every event, likemass shootings, remember, every mass shooting there is, the Democrats in the media try to make everybody think right off the bat that sometea partier did it, or some talk radio fan did it, or someFox News viewer did it. Turns out, it's never, ever the case." Limbaugh instead raised unsubstantiated claims that the perpetrator might have been a "Democrat operative ... attempting to create the appearance that there are mobs everywhere."[118][119][120] Other right-wing commentators who tried to spread the "false flag" conspiracy theories includedAnn Coulter,Dinesh D'Souza,Michael Savage,James Woods,Frank Gaffney,Candace Owens, andLaura Loomer.[121][122]
Federal authorities took a Florida man into custody Friday in connection with the mail-bomb scare that earlier widened to 14 suspicious packages sent to prominent Democrats from coast to coast.
Sayoc was sentenced in August 2002 for threatening to throw a bomb in a conversation with a Florida utility representative, according to Ronald Lowy, a Miami attorney who represented him. Dade County court records showed Sayoc served a year's probation after a judge signed a discharge certificate in November 2002.
Sayoc has an extensive criminal history, including an arrest for a past bomb threat in 2002, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times.
According to Florida's voter registration rolls, Sayoc registered as a Republican on 4 March 2016.
In addition, Sayoc, 56, of Florida, drove a van that was covered with pro-Trump and Republican decals and stickers.
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