Package bomb suspect had hit list, official says

FAN Editor

MIAMI — The man suspected of sending explosive material to critics of President Trump made his first court appearance on Monday in Miami as another suspicious package was discovered. In court, a handcuffed Cesar Sayoc was soft-spoken and even appeared to become emotional at times. It was a stark contrast to the man accused of a campaign of fear that continued on Monday as another suspicious package was intercepted Monday in Atlanta, addressed to CNN headquarters.

It would be at least the 15th potentially explosive device Sayoc is accused of mailing to prominent critics of Mr. Trump. A law enforcement official tells CBS News that Sayoc had a list of more than 100 others in his van when he was captured. The list included mostly politicians and media figures.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force is notifying those whose names are on the alleged target list, the official said, and authorities have warned that other packages may still be out there.

Investigators say Sayoc’s van, covered in pro-Trump stickers, was his home and bomb lab. Authorities say none of the devices had a trigger mechanism and Sayoc said he never intended to harm anyone.

Sayoc is an ardent supporter of the president. Filmmaker Michael Moore released footage of Sayoc at a rally in Florida last year.

sayoc-van.jpg

Mail bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc and the van seized by investigators in Plantation, Florida.

CBS News

Deborah Gureghian manages a pizza restaurant where Sayoc once worked. She said, in her view, Sayoc’s beliefs went beyond political.

“It went to pure hatred, yes, pure hatred,” Gureghian said.

Surveillance video obtained by a Miami station shows Sayoc reading newspapers at a strip club just hours before he was arrested Friday.

“We don’t know what they have yet. That’s up to them to prove what that is,” said Sayoc’s lawyer Daniel Aaronson.

Sayoc is scheduled to be in court again Friday. 

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