The alleged bomb-maker had been in federal prison four days, but his deadly plans continued to unfold Monday, according to investigators. This time, a homemade explosive package was found in Atlanta, bringing the total to at least 15 allegedly mailed by the same man.
Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., 56, is suspected of mailing the homemade explosive devices to politicians, Democratic supporters and media outlets. The latest package, located at a downtown post office, was addressed to CNN’s Atlanta headquarters, the FBI said. According to CNN President Jeff Zucker, all of the network’s mail is being screened off-site. Shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday, the package was located at the Central City post office on Pryor Street, just hours before Sayoc made his first court appearance since his Friday arrest.
The FBI used social media to confirm that the Atlanta package was similar to the others. But the agency offered few additional details after the Atlanta police bomb squad removed the package from the post office and took it to an undisclosed location for further inspection.
“The #FBI has confirmed a package has been recovered in Atlanta, similar in appearance to the others, addressed to CNN,” the agency posted on Twitter.
Last week, suspicious packages were mailed to CNN’s offices in New York, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Other packages were sent to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, billionaire George Soros and actor Robert De Niro, according to federal investigators. Sayoc was charged in connection with 13 packages.
After a package intended for CNN’s New York newsroom was intercepted on Wednesday, the network increased its security in Atlanta. Then on Friday, the FBI said a 14th package was located, that one intended for billionaire and liberal activist Tom Steyer. And Monday, the Atlanta package brought the total to 15.
“There is no imminent danger to the CNN Center,” Zucker said Monday morning in a message posted on Twitter. “All mail, at all CNN domestic bureaus, is being screened at off-site facilities as of last Wednesday, so this package would NOT have come directly to the CNN Center, even if it hadn’t been intercepted first. Our screening process is working and we will keep you updated as we learn more.”
By Monday afternoon, Sayoc had not been criminally charged for allegedly mailing the packages to Steyer or CNN in Atlanta. But in his criminal complaint, FBI Special Agent David Brown described the packages as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and the most recent two mailings were similar.
“Each of the 13 IEDs was largely similar in design and construction; they each consisted of approximately six inches of PVC pipe, a small clock, a battery, wiring, and energetic material,” the federal complaint states. “Certain of the mailings included photographs of the target-recipients marked with a red ‘X.’”
The packages were each mailed in a tan-colored manila envelope lined with bubble wrap, and each was stamped with approximately six postage stamps bearing a picture of an American flag, according to the FBI. And how the packages were addressed — including misspellings — gave investigators clues to locating the alleged senders likely being the same person, according to the FBI.
Each envelope listed a return sender of “Debbie Wasserman Shultz,” a U.S. representative from Florida, investigators said, though her actual last name is spelled Schultz. But each enveloped misspelled Florida as “Florids,” Brown wrote in the complaint.
Additionally, Sayoc allegedly misspelled the names Hillary and Barack, as well as referring to Waters as “Maxim,” according to the FBI. His misspelled the same names on his Twitter account, along with posts criticizing Obama and Soros. investigators said.
Investigators able to match a fingerprint on one of the envelopes to Sayoc and believe a DNA sample matched a previous sample collected from Sayoc.
Sayoc, who was believed to be living in a van, is a former male stripper, pizza driver and strip club DJ. He has an extensive criminal record, court records show, including convictions for various thefts and traffic violations. He also was convicted after he threatened to throw a bomb in 2002 in Florida’s Dade County, but avoided prison time and instead was sentenced to probation.
At Monday’s hearing, federal prosecutors said they will seek to keep Sayoc jailed until trial because they believe he is a flight risk and a danger to the community. A judge set another hearing for Friday to determine whether to grant bail to Sayoc and to discuss when he will be sent from Miami to New York, where the five federal charges were filed. He has been charged with interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailings of explosives, threats against former presidents, threatening interstate communications, and assaulting federal officers.
One of Sayoc’s attorneys, Daniel Aaronson, urged people not to rush to judgment based on media reports, the Associated Press reported.
“Right now, we know very, very, very little,” Aaronson said of the case. “We do not know all the evidence the government has. You have to keep in mind he has not been found guilty of anything.”
Sayoc, shackled at the wrists and ankles and wearing a tan jail jumpsuit, said little at the hearing but at one point appeared to be tearing up. Aaronson said he did not know what made Sayoc seem emotional but noted he is facing decades in prison if convicted.
Staff writer J.D. Capelouto and staff photographer John Spink contributed to this report.
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