Mail Bombing Suspect Identity Confirmed: 56-Year-Old with Arrest Record
A South Florida man with a past criminal record was arrested on Friday in connection to the explosive devices sent to prominent Democrats this week.
“A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cesar Sayoc, Jr., 56, of Aventura, Fla, just north of Miami,” The New York Times reported.
Sayoc has a criminal record dating back to 1991 that includes felony theft, drug and fraud charges, as well as threatening to use a bomb in 2002.
His most recent arrest was in 2015 for a probation violation, according to South Florida’s Sun Sentinal.
On Friday, authorities tracked him down to the parking lot of a shopping center in Plantation, Florida at 11 a.m. Eastern, according to The Washington Post.
JUST IN: Photo released of suspect accused of sending suspicious packages to top Democrats https://t.co/eASWoFODSM pic.twitter.com/NHTK16EcWM
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 26, 2018
Sayoc is a registered Republican, who is originally from New York.
The Department of Justice plans to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern to discuss the investigation and arrest.
Fox News reported that federal authorities had been focusing on Florida as the locations where are the majority of the 12 packages had originated.
“Some of the packages went through the mail,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen earlier told Fox News. “They originated, some of them, from Florida. I am confident that this person or people will be brought to justice.”
“The envelopes and packaging materials likely contained a treasure trove of DNA information. Tiny bits of genetic material — traces of sweat, skin cells, saliva, hair or fingerprints – are typically used as a roadmap to the suspect’s door, investigators and bomb experts say,” Fox reported.
Photos of the van, believed to belong to Sayoc, have popped up online. Federal authorities took possession of it Friday.
@CBSMiami I have some pictures of this van I saw him at a stoplight one day and thought is was very strange. pic.twitter.com/VWUwznJK8k
— M&M (@thereal_mo01) October 26, 2018
The van was covered with stickers, including those in support of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump addressed Sayoc’s arrest in remarks at the White House, saying: “We must never allow political violence to take root in America.”
I would like to begin today’s remarks by providing an update on the packages and devices that have been mailed to high-profile figures throughout our Country, and a media org. I am pleased to inform you that law enforcement has apprehended the suspect and taken him into custody. pic.twitter.com/UFjwjjUkLd
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2018
He promised “swift and certain justice” and said the suspect would be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
Trump praised the FBI, DOJ, the Secret Service, the New York Police Department and all law enforcement agencies involved for quickly finding the suspect.
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