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Robert de Niro is urging Americans to get out and vote.
In his first statement since a pipe bomb was sent to his office in Manhattan — one of at least 12 that were sent in suspicious packages to prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump this week — the Oscar-winning actor refocused his followers on the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 6.
“There’s something more powerful than bombs, and that’s your vote. People MUST vote!” he said in a statement to PEOPLE.
He also addressed the scare — saying, “I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us.”
RELATED: All the Times Donald Trump Has Insulted the Targets of Attempted Pipe Bomb Attacks
A suspicious package addressed to De Niro was removed by the New York City Police Department bomb squad on Thursday.
The address where the package was found, 375 Greenwich St., houses De Niro’s production company Tribeca Enterprises and restaurant Tribeca Grill, CNN reported. A report about the suspicious package was called in at 5:00 a.m. local time, and authorities removed the package via the NYPD bomb truck at 6:30 a.m.
An NYPD rep told PEOPLE that the package was similar to the other suspicious packages, its return address listed as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and six American flag stamps placed on the manilla envelope.
Dan Callister/REX/Shutterstock
Similar devices have been intercepted addressed to former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the news network CNN, Democratic donor George Soros, Rep. Maxine Waters, former CIA Director John Brennan, and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.
A manhunt is underway for the sender. Packages have contained piped bombs packed with shards of glass, authorities have said. All have been disabled by police without any reported injuries.
“If you have info that could assist the #FBI’s investigation of suspicious packages, call 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324) or use tips.fbi.gov,” the FBI tweeted on Thursday, adding a photo of one of the packages. “If you observe suspicious activity that requires an immediate response, call 911 or contact local law enforcement immediately.”
As news of the bombs unfolded, President Trump stood strong, condemning their terror.
“I just want to tell you that in these times we have to unify,” he said during an opioids event at the White House. “We have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America.”
“This egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as Americans,” Trump continued. “We are extremely angry [and] upset… We will get to the bottom of it.”
But on Thursday, Trump blamed the media for the surge of potentially dangerous mailings — saying the press was at fault for creating divisions in American society.
“A very big part of the anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the mainstream media that I refer to as fake news,” he tweeted. “It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream media must clean up its act, fast!”
Robert De Niro and Donald Trump
Ben Gabbe/Getty; Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty
De Niro has been a vocal critic of Trump’s.
In January, he labeled the president“baby-in-chief” at a gala, and in May, he told the Daily Mail that he has banned Trump from his Nobu restaurants.
In June, De Niro told high school students, “Our country is lead by a president who believes he can make up his own truth. And we have a word for that — bulls—.”
“A college education is important, but education without humanity is ignorance,” De Niro said in March at a Fulfillment Fund event. “Look at our president. He made it through [the] University of Pennsylvania, so he was exposed to a quality education, but he’s still an idiot.”
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Days later, De Niro took his frustrations with Trump to the stage at the 2018 Tony Awards.
“F— Trump” he said, before presenting an award. “It’s no longer just down with Trump, it’s f— Trump.” The statement was met with a standing ovation.
Afterward, Trump tweeted, “Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received to many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be ‘punch-drunk.’ I guess he doesn’t … realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all time high, and many companies pouring back into our country. Wake up Punchy!”
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