Accused Mail Bomber Cesar Sayoc Indicted on 30 Counts

(CN) – The United States brought a 30-count indictment Friday against the suspect in a mail-bombing spree that targeted politicians, philanthropists and reporters perceived as critical of President Donald Trump.

Branded as the #MAGAbomber on social media for his fanatical devotion to Trump, Cesar Sayoc is believed to have targeted former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joseph Biden, 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator Cory Booker, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, philanthropist and billionaire George Soros, and actor and director Robert De Niro.

Along with the news network CNN and many others, these individuals all received pipe bombs mailed to their homes beginning on Oct. 22. Sayoc, 56, was arrested four days later in his home state of Florida and transferred last week to New York to face charges.

According to criminal court records in Miami-Dade County, Sayoc was arrested in 2002 and served probation on charges related to making bomb threats. In Broward County, he has also faced charges of grand theft in 1991 and criminal use of personal ID info in 2004.

Friday's indictment notes that Sayoc also went by the alias Cesar Altieri Randazzo, and that the bomb mailed to Clinton's home in Chappaqua contained a photo of the Clinton family "marked with a red 'X.'"

Brennan, De Niro and Clapper received photos of themselves as well, while the package to Soros included a printout with the word Soros marked with an X, according to the indictment.

Though the indictment describes these five people only, the Justice Department specified in a press release this afternoon that Sayoc mailed 16 improvised explosive devices to 13 victims throughout the country.

"Each of the 16 envelopes allegedly mailed by Sayoc had similar features, including the return addressee 'Debbie Wasserman Shultz' at an address in 'Florids,' six self-adhesive postage stamps bearing the American flag, and address labels printed on white paper with blank ink in similar typeface and font size," the press release states. "Each of the 16 envelopes also contained an IED. The 16 IEDs also had similar features, including approximately six inches of PVC pipe packed with explosive material, a small clock, and wiring. Some of the IEDs also contained shards of glass."

Sayoc faces life in prison if convicted of the charges in Friday's indictment, which include the use of a weapon of mass destruction, interstate transportation of explosives, illegal mailing of explosives and threatening interstate communications.

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