Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
A man has pleaded guilty to sending a wave of pipe bombs to prominent critics of Donald Trump - attacks that harmed no one but created fear as the devices turned up, day after day, at locations across the country.
Cesar Sayoc sobbed as he entered the plea before a federal judge in New York.
“I’m truly sorry,” he said.
He faces the possibility of a life sentence on 65 criminal counts, including using weapons of mass destruction and illegal mailing of explosives with intent to kill.
Sayoc had been scheduled to go on trial this summer on charges that he mailed rudimentary bombs to 16 targets, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, several members of congress, former president Barack Obama and the actor Robert De Niro.
Devices were also mailed to CNN offices in New York and Atlanta.
He has been held without bail since his late-October arrest at a South Florida auto parts store. At the time, he had been living in a van covered with Trump stickers and images of Trump opponents with crosshairs over their faces.
The bombs began turning up weeks before the hotly contested midterm elections, contributing to an already tense political environment.
The hunt for the bomber began on 22 October when a device was discovered in a mailbox at an estate in New York City’s northern suburbs owned by the billionaire George Soros, a liberal political activist and frequent subject of conspiracy theories.
A device addressed to the Clintons was discovered the following day, followed a day later by a slew of homemade pipe bombs found at the homes or offices of prominent Democrats. One, addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, was sent to CNN in New York.
Over several days, investigators tracked the packages to a mailing centre in Florida.
Prosecutors said the evidence against Sayoc includes DNA linking him to 10 of the explosive devices and fingerprints on two of them.
Without a plea deal, Sayoc faced charges carrying a potential penalty of mandatory life in prison.
Others targeted by the mailings included former Vice President Joe Biden, California senator Kamala Harris and New Jersey senator Cory Booker.
Associated Press
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments