A Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump. Cesar Sayoc appeared in federal court in New York, where he pleaded to 65 counts stemming from the mailing of 16 devices. He faces life in prison, plus 120 months, at his sentencing on Sept. 12.
“I knew that these actions were wrong, and I’m extremely sorry,” Sayoc said, weeping as he entered his plea, according to Courthouse News Service.
Sayoc was arrested in October and accused of sending explosive devices to Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, actor Robert De Niro and former vice president Joe Biden, among many others. One device was sent to CNN’s New York headquarters and addressed to John Brennan, the former CIA director. A second was addressed to James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, and sent to CNN. It was intercepted in a postal facility in New York. No one was injured, though several postal facilities were shut down when the devices were discovered.
The FBI used a fingerprint to trace the attacks to Sayoc, who was living a van decorated with political messages supporting Trump and attacking his critics. The packages contained pipe bombs, made out of PVC pipe with a small clock attached. Some of the packages also contained photos of the intended targets with a red “X.”
Sayoc was indicted in November on 30 counts, including use of a weapon of mass destruction, mailing an explosive device, and sending criminal threats. His other intended targets included George Soros, Sen. Corey Booker, Rep. Maxine Waters, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Sen. Kamala Harris, and Democratic donor Tom Steyer.
