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Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Florida, faces charges at the federal level and could face up to 48 years in prison if convicted.
On Friday, the authorities intercepted 14 parcels sent by Sayoc via the US postal system, officials said. None of the craft blew up and no one was injured.
Among his presumed targets were former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former US Attorney General Eric Holder, California Senator Kamala Harris, Senator New Jersey Cory Booker and California representative Maxine Waters.
Sayoc should be tried for five felonies under federal law: transporting an explosive between states, illegally sending explosives, threats against former presidents and other people, threats of inter-state communications and attacks on current and past federal agents.
Appearance in court
Sayoc will appear in the South Florida District Court at 2 pm AND Monday, when a federal magistrate should officially inform him of the charges against him, read him his rights and appoint a counsel, if necessary.
The investigating judge will also establish or refuse the initial release on bail.
Sayoc told investigators, after his arrest in Plantation, Florida, that homemade bombs would have injured no one, and that he did not want to hurt anyone, according to a law enforcement official .
However, the federal authorities indicated that the bombs allegedly sent by Sayoc were real and posed a danger to their addressees.
Sayoc was detained on Friday night at a federal detention center in Miami. It seems that he lived in the white Dodge van where he was found and arrested on Friday morning, said a law enforcement official.
Investigators believe that Sayoc made the homemade bombs in the van, said two sources of public order. Inside the vehicle, there were welding equipment, stamps, envelopes, paper, a printer and powder, the sources said.
A few hours before his arrest, Sayoc was playing music sets at a Florida strip club where he had been working for two months.
The bodybuilder had previously worked as a dancer for several 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.
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.
The political opinions of Sayoc
Sayoc has published his political opinions on social media and has been prolific on his two Facebook accounts and his three Twitter feeds, often posting provocative photos and memes attacking liberals.
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 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 conspiracy theories, memes and articles criticizing 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's text threatened former Vice President Joe Biden and Mr Holder, both targeted by improvised explosive devices discovered last 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.
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, Obama and others. A package destined for Soros had been recovered two days earlier.
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