The Latest: Man pleads guilty to mailing bombs to Trump foes
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on a Florida man charged with mailing explosives to critics of President Donald Trump (all times local):
4:43 p.m.
A Florida man has pleaded guilty to sending a wave of pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump.
Cesar Sayoc entered the plea Thursday before a federal judge in New York.
He had been scheduled to go on trial this summer on charges that he mailed explosives to 16 targets, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, the billionaire George Soros, several members of congress and the actor Robert De Niro.
Although no bombs exploded, each new report of a device found heightened the tension in the weeks before last year’s hotly contested midterm elections.
Sayoc had been held without bail since his late-October arrest in Florida.
He’d been living in a van covered with Trump stickers and images of Trump opponents with crosshairs over their faces.
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1:11 a.m.
A Florida man who authorities say sent pipe bombs to prominent critics of President Donald Trump is expected to plead guilty Thursday.
Cesar Sayoc is scheduled to enter the plea in Manhattan federal court.
The change-of-plea hearing was revealed last week after a phone conference between prosecutors, Sayoc’s lawyers and a judge. Sayoc’s plea will avert a trial scheduled for July.
Authorities say he targeted numerous Democrats, including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the billionaire George Soros, former President Barack Obama and CNN, heightening tensions before midterm elections. No bombs exploded.
Sayoc has been held without bail since his late-October arrest outside a South Florida auto parts store. He had been living in a van covered with Trump stickers and images of Trump opponents with crosshairs over their faces.
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