Cesar Sayoc, arrested on Friday (26) and suspected of sending 13 packages of explosives to politicians linked to the Democratic Party and other critics of President Trump, has been charged with five federal crimes and could face up to 48 years in prison.
According to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Sayoc will respond to charges of interstate transportation of explosives, illegal shipments of explosives, threats against former presidents, threats to interstate commerce, and attacks on federal and former officials. Sessions even said the sentence would be up to 58 years, but then the Justice Department corrected the number.
"The charges may change or be amplified as the investigation progresses, but we also want to emphasize that anyone is innocent until proven guilty," Sessions told a news conference on Friday afternoon.
According to the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, Sayoc's identification was possible initially thanks to a digital one found in the package sent to Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters in California. In addition, his DNA was also present in other packages.
Wray further detailed that the packages contained devices built with PVC pipes of about 15 centimeters, a small block, a battery, and potentially explosive energy material. According to the director of the FBI, the material would explode if exposed to the ideal combination of heat, shock or friction. "They were real explosives," he said.
According to the CNN network, Cesar Sayoc, 56, lives in Florida and has been arrested several times since the early 1990s. In 2002, he was arrested for "bomb threat" and "threatening to discharge destructive device" according to records of the Florida Department of Police.
Sayoc was still arrested in 1999 for possession of a stolen vehicle. He was not a figure known for the secret service, several police sources told the network.
Sayoc is registered in the Republican Party. He registered for the first time to vote in Florida on March 4, 2016.
American television showed footage of the prison where police appeared seizing a van full of stickers, some of them portraying Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
President Trump praised the swiftness of the authorities in capturing the suspect, and again said that political violence should not take place in the United States.
