United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, December 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
WASHINGTON — A suspect has been charged with five federal crimes in connection with more than a dozen suspicious packages sent in a US mail bombing spree, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday.
The charges include interstate transportation of an explosive, mailing of explosives, threats against former presidents and threatening interstate communications, Sessions told a news conference.
FBI chief Christopher Wray confirmed the suspect is 56-year-old Florida resident Cesar Sayoc.
If put on trial and convicted, the suspect faces up to 48 years in prison, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice.
In this undated photo released by the Broward County Sheriff’s office, mail bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc is seen in a booking photo in Miami. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Thirteen improved explosive devices were sent to different individuals in the mail bombing spree, including PVC pipe, a small clock, a battery and wiring, Wray said.
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He said it was “too early” to publicly identify a motive for the bombing spree, while also warning there “may be” further packages.
“It’s too early at this stage for us to be discussing motivation in this particular case,” Wray said. “We’re concerned about people committing acts of violence under any motivation.”
According to pictures posted on social media and broadcast by US television, a van impounded in Florida in connection with the suspect, Cesar Sayoc, was covered in stickers denouncing Democrats and supportive of Donald Trump.
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The targets of the bombing spree were all prominent Trump critics.
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