‘MAGA bomber’ Cesar Sayoc, who mailed pipe bombs to Donald Trump’s critics, weeps as judge jails him for 20 years
- Targets included Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, some members of Congress, as well as CNN offices in New York and Atlanta
- Judge concluded that bombs were purposely designed not to explode
A Florida amateur body builder who admitted sending inoperative pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and CNN was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday by a judge who said he concluded that the bombs purposely were not designed to explode.
‘MAGA bomber’ Cesar Sayoc, 57, wept and crossed himself when US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff announced the sentence. Sayoc earlier this year had pleaded guilty to explosives charges for mailing 16 pipe bombs days before the midterm elections last fall.
The one-time stripper and pizza delivery man from Aventura, Florida, apologised to his victims, saying he was “so very sorry for what I did”.
His targets included Hillary Clinton, former vice-president Joe Biden, several members of Congress, former president Barack Obama and actor Robert De Niro. Devices were also mailed to CNN offices in New York and Atlanta.
Assistant Federal Defender Marcus Amelkin said his client was driven in part by his obsession with US President Donald Trump and his feeling that Democrats were to blame for damage to his van, which was plastered with Trump stickers and images of crosshairs superimposed over the faces of Trump opponents.
