NEW YORK, March 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A supporter of President Donald Trump
pleaded guilty on Thursday to mailing crude bombs to prominent Democrats
including former president Barack Obama and former Democratic presidential
nominee Hillary Clinton.
Cesar Sayoc, 57, who was arrested in Florida in October, pleaded guilty to
65 counts and could face life imprisonment at his sentencing in September.
Appearing in court in a blue prison jumpsuit, and with his hair pulled
into a gray ponytail, he apologized for his actions during an appearance in a
US District Court in New York.
Reading a statement prepared with his lawyers, he admitted he fashioned
the homemade devices from materials including plastic piping, a digital alarm
clock with electric wiring attached, fireworks and glass fragments.
“I know these actions were wrong and I am sorry,” he told the court, in a
barely audible, choked voice.
The slew of charges relates to 16 package bombs Sayoc sent from a Florida
post office to leading Democrats as well as the Manhattan offices of CNN.
Besides Obama and Clinton, those targeted included billionaire George
Soros, former president Bill Clinton, 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 and most did not come anywhere near their
intended recipients.
“Our democracy will simply not survive if our political discourse includes
sending bombs to those we disagree with,” said General John C. Demers,
Assistant Attorney for the National Security Division, following the hearing.
“I applaud the efforts of so many in our law enforcement community whose
alertness and tirelessness led to the prompt arrest of the defendant.”
Sayoc had initially been charged with 30 counts, already putting him at
risk of life in prison. His guilty plea does not guarantee a more lenient
sentence — but Judge Jed Rakoff stressed he did not have to hand down a life
sentence in September.
A former strip club manager and bodybuilder and martial arts practitioner,
Sayoc was an ardent supporter of Trump, who has rejected accusations that his
rhetoric fuels extremism.
Sayoc, who lived in a white truck plastered with pro-Trump and anti-
Democrat stickers, was arrested in Florida five days after the first device
was discovered in Soros’s upstate New York mailbox.
The episode heightened political tensions in the lead-up to the November 6
US midterm elections, which saw Democrats gain control of the House of
Representatives while Republicans retained control of the Senate.
Police found Sayoc’s fingerprints and DNA on the packages.
Sayoc has a criminal record dating back to 1991, peppered with convictions
for theft, fraud, violence and a threat to blow up his electric utility
company.