Pipe Bomb at George Soros' Home Was Likely Hand Delivered, Officials Say



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George Soros, the philanthropist billionaire philanthropist who has been a target of right-wing criticism and conspiracy theorists, was given by the Postal Service, several law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

Mr. Soros' home is in a suburb of New York City. The device was constructed with six inches long filled with explosive powder, and was "proactively detonated" by bomb squad technicians, according to one of the officials, all of whom were briefed on the investigation into the device.

The motive of the would-be bombers remained unclear, one of the officials said, adding that there was not yet any claim of responsibility.

Authorities, though, had no evidence of a connection between Mr. Soros's critics and the incident. Mr. Soros, who is a full-time philanthropist and political activist, is a favorite focus of the ire of right-wing groups. In recent days, some of them have been falsely speculated that they have funded a caravan of migrants moving north of Mexico.

Mr. Soros was discovered by a caretaker, another one of the officials said. It was made to detonate, and it could have been destroyed.

A senior law enforcement official described the pipe bomb as "smaller than what we typically see."

The investigation is being conducted by the New York Offices of the F.B.I. and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, based on the results of the investigation.

Officers from the police department in the town of Bedford, NY, in the hamlet of Katonah, at about 3:45 pm Monday in response to a caretaker statement. The Westchester County Police Department's bomb squad was called, as were federal and state investigators.

"The caretaker went out to collect the mail and did not make it back to the residence," a senior law enforcement official said. The caretaker "dropped in the woods on the way back to the residence."

Another official said investigators had photographed the package before detonating the device. The United States postal inspectors, the official said, who thought that the markings on the envelope were likely to be made through the mail, though they believed it was not.

The inspectors, the official said, also interviewed the carrier on the road, who did not recall delivering such a package.

Two F.B.I. Joint Terrorism Task Force has been established in the United States by the Office of the Prosecutor, Rye, NY, and another in the United States. .

Agents have been able to navigate the area for surveillance cameras in such a way that they have been able to do so, or approaching or leaving one of them.

Mr. Soros, who was born in Hungary, made his fortune running a hedge fund. He donates to the Democratic candidates and progressive causes, and has given at least $ 18 billion to his Open Society Foundations to promote democracy and human rights around the world.

He became a major political donor in the United States during George W. Bush's presidency. He spent millions backing John Kerry's unsuccessful bid to deny Mr. Bush's second term, was an early backer of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and contributed more than $ 25 million to Hillary Clinton and other Democratic candidates and causes during the 2016 election cycle.

His activism has made him a villain to conservative groups and the target of anti-Semitic smears. Roseanne Barr called him a Nazi in an infamous tweetstorm.

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