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Few people were aware of his political views.
At least four times a week over the past two months, the 56-year-old has parked his white Dodge van covered with stickers supporting President Donald Trump and representing some Trump critics with targets on their images near the Ultra Gentlemen's Club West Palm Beach. . Sometimes he worked as a DJ and others as a bouncer.
Sayoc was arrested Friday after the federal authorities had declared that he had sent 14 pipe bombs to the US courier to prominent Democrats in the country. None of the bombs exploded and no one was injured. He faces federal charges and could receive up to 48 years in prison if he is found guilty.
As the investigation continues, here is what we learned about the alleged bomb maker.
He is a bodybuilder and former dancer
Sayoc, from Aventura, Florida, is a bodybuilder who has worked as a dancer for many years and more recently as a pizza driver.
On his LinkedIn account, Sayoc is described as a choreographer and booking agent for strippers and burlesque shows.
On Twitter, he said he was a "Current Booking Agent / Sales / Marketing / Promotions / Live Project Management Events" at the Hard Rock Live Seminole in Hollywood, Florida.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International stated that there was "no evidence" that the suspect is or was a member or was employed by any of the three groups. They also stated that they could not immediately "check whether he was or was an employee of a supplier company".
A cousin, Lenny Altieri, said Sayoc had attended good schools and was well educated. "Brain and common sense are not synonymous," he said.
Sayoc studied at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte from 1983 to 1984, but did not graduate, announced the school's communications office. He was an undisclosed major who played in the football team.
He also went to Brevard College in North Carolina, said a school spokesman. He enrolled in Brevard in the fall of 1980 and took courses for three semesters without graduating.
Previously, he was delivering food for a pizzeria in Fort Lauderdale until his departure in January. He said he had found a job in driving a hazardous waste transport truck in North Carolina, said director Debra Gureghian.
He seemed to live in his van
He seems to have been separated from his family for several years.
A filing for bankruptcy in 2012 in Florida indicated that Sayoc "lives with his mother, has no furniture". The 46-page deposit, signed by Sayoc in June 2012, shows total assets of $ 4,175 and a liability of $ 21,109.
But a lawyer representing Sayoc's family said that he had not visited his mother's apartment in Aventura for at least three years.
His mother and sisters urged him to seek treatment because he was struggling with "a lack of understanding of reality," said attorney Ronald S. Lowy.
"He thinks there is nothing wrong," Lowy said in a phone interview shortly after meeting with the suspect's family on Friday.
He added that Sayoc's mother, who was operated on Friday, "does not understand his behavior or his opinions".
Lowy, the family's attorney, said that Sayoc's father was Filipino and that his mother was Italian. He said that Sayoc was not politically active when he met her.
It seems that his parents fired him and that he lives in the white Dodge van where he was found Friday, said a law enforcement official.
Investigators believe that Sayoc made the homemade bombs in this van, two sources of public order said. Inside the vehicle, there were welding equipment, stamps, envelopes, paper, a printer and powder, the sources said.
He has a long criminal history
The past of Sayoc is marked by meetings with the forces of the order.
The court records show that he had been arrested at least nine times, mainly in Florida, for charges of robbery, battery, fraud, drug possession and probation violations.
In 2002, he was arrested after Miami police announced that he was threatening to bomb an electric company, saying "it would be worse than September 11".
"The defendant contacted a representative from Florida Power and Light Co. … by phone and threatened to blow up FPL," said a report from the Miami Police Department about the incident.
The appellant "threatened to blow up the building if FP & L turned off its light," according to the report.
He pleaded guilty to the offense, according to the records, and was sentenced to one year of probation.
In 2014, he was arrested and then pleaded guilty of stealing copper pipes at Home Depot.
"A model employee" despite opinions on minorities, says former boss
Gureghian, managing director of New River Pizza and Fresh Kitchen in Fort Lauderdale, said Sayoc was open with her about his views. He claims to be a white supremacist and does not like gays, African Americans, Jews, and anyone who is not white, she said.
Gureghian said that Sayoc had told her that lesbians like her and other minorities should be placed on an island. And even if he liked it, he told her that she would burn in hell, she told CNN.
Even though she hated her political leanings, Gureghian said that she had not fired him because he was doing his job and that there were no complaints.
"He was a model employee," she said, adding that she "could not understand" how he allegedly sent the letters.
He posted anti-Muslim memes and criticized politicians
For some of his colleagues, Sayoc was not particularly involved in politics, but his accounts on social networks and his van tell a different story.
In 2016, Sayoc signed up to vote as a Republican in Florida, and a video on Facebook showed him a hat "Make America Great Again" at a Trump rally.
He was prolific on his two Facebook accounts and his three Twitter feeds, often displaying provocative photos and memes attacking liberals.
He took the mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum, Democratic candidate for the Florida governor's race, more than 80 times in October alone.
In other articles, Sayoc shared theories, memes and articles about the plot criticizing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump's opponent in 2016.
On September 20, in response to a tweet from Trump, Sayoc posted a video of herself at what appears to be a Trump rally.
The tweet text threatened former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder, both targeted by improvised explosive devices discovered this week.
Trump Trump Trump hey Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. And Eric Himpton Holder Sr. Stick your stupidity of BS as you speak where the sun does not shine.We will soon face your threats.No option, we will see you soon. Hug, close, we are not very close, "reads in the tweet.
But he has talked about bombs only twice on Twitter and the background of these publications is not entirely clear.
"The bomb team here," read the first tweet posted on September 9.
"A team from the Unconquered Seminole tribe," reads a second tweet posted a few minutes later.
Sayoc also published virulent anti-Muslim memes and published the address of billionaire investor and Democratic donor George Soros, as well as photos of some other people's homes who subsequently received bombs.
Just last Wednesday, Sayoc published a tweet that criticized Soros, former President Barack Obama and others. A package destined for Soros had been recovered two days earlier.
And about two weeks ago, Sayoc tweeted to a political analyst.
"We will see you of course. 4. Keep your loved ones very close every time you leave home," says the tweet.
Rochelle Ritchie reported that it was an abuse, but Twitter said it was not a violation of its rules.
A Facebook representative told CNN that the company had removed Sayoc's account on Friday. The representative stated that several of Sayoc's previous publications had violated Facebook community standards and had been removed prior to his arrest, but that none of his reported or discovered Facebook posts contained violations of his sufficiently serious rules. to completely delete the account.
Sayoc was previously unknown to the secret services, according to repressive sources.
Jason Hanna, Evan Perez, Scott Glover, Steve Almasy, CNN's Ray Sanchez and Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.
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