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Trump fan to plead guilty to 2018 package bombs
NEW YORK, March 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A fan of US President Donald Trump
who mailed parcel bombs to prominent Democratic figures last October was set
to appear in court Thursday, where he was expected to plead guilty to some of
the 30 charges against him.
Cesar Sayoc, 57, who was arrested in Florida on October 26 following a
massive manhunt, was due in federal court in New York at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT).
Although it was not known which charges he would plead guilty to, all
relate to the 16 package bombs he is accused of mailing from a Florida post
office to several well-known people who oppose Trump, as well as the
Manhattan offices of CNN. He previously pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The packages’ intended recipients included billionaire philanthropist
George Soros, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, former president
Barack Obama, former vice president Joe Biden, actor Robert De Niro and
several Democratic lawmakers, including 2020 presidential hopefuls Cory
Booker and Kamala Harris.
None of the packages exploded or even reached their targets and authorities
questioned the actual danger they posed.
But by targeting Democrats, Sayoc — who also goes by the alias Cesar
Altieri and was identified by DNA recovered from the packages — helped
contribute to heightened tensions during the US midterm election campaign
season.
Sayoc’s partial guilty plea Thursday could help mitigate the severity of a
sentence if he is convicted on all counts.
– ‘Very angry’ –
As his trial loomed, information from Sayoc’s past began to filter into the
public sphere, fueling the debate about extremism in the age of Trump and
social media — a debate that grew more urgent as 11 people were shot dead at
a Pittsburgh synagogue later in October.
Estranged from his family and in financial distress, Sayoc lived in a white
van plastered in stickers proclaiming his admiration for the US president.
His criminal record dates back to 1991, peppered with convictions for
theft, fraud, violence and a threat to bomb his electric utility company.
A former strip club manager and an adept bodybuilder and martial arts
practitioner, Sayoc discovered a passion for Trump just as his political star
was rising.
His social media posts took a politically radical turn: he’s seen wearing a
“Make America Great Again” hat, sharing pro-Trump images and posting articles
from ultra-conservative and conspiracy-driven websites such as Infowars and
Breitbart.
“He was very angry and angry at the world, at blacks, Jews, gays,” recalled
Debra Gureghian, the general manager of a Florida pizzeria where Sayoc worked
as a delivery driver for several months.
Lawyer Ron Lowy, who defended Sayoc in 2002 and remained close to his
family, described him on NPR in October as someone whose “intellect is
limited, and who is “like a little boy in a man’s body.”
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1121 hrs