Federal agents have arrested a Florida Trump fan in connection with the explosive packages sent in the mail to a number of top Democrats and Trump critics this week.
The suspect, who has not been charged, was identified as 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, The Sun-Sentinel reports. He was arrested at an auto parts store in Plantation, Florida Friday.
A white van covered in pro-Trump decals was also seized.
At least 12 packages were sent to the Obamas, the Clintons, former Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA Director John Brennan (at CNN), former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (at CNN), Rep. Maxine Waters, Sen. Cory Booker, Democratic donor George Soros, and actor Robert De Niro.
Sayoc, a Native American and registered Republican, has been arrested at least 10 times, including a 2002 arrest for making a bomb threat.
Stickers on the suspect's van show numerous photos of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as well as targets on the faces of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, filmmaker Michael Moore, and CNN host Van Jones. The van also had a “CNN sucks” sticker.
The suspect's Facebook page included photos he took at a Trump rally, as well as numerous anti-Muslim memes and messages.
Democrats say suspect was "radicalized" by Trump:
Liberal activist Igor Volsky pointed to the suspect's van as proof he was "radicalized" by the president.
"Trump likes to talk about terrorists being 'radicalized” by Muslim extremism," wrote radio host Michelangelo Signorile. "Now FBI has hauled away a man who appears to have been radicalized by Trump, his hatred and his promotion of violence."
Conservatives compare to Democratic violence:
Republicans were quick to point to Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson, who shot Republican lawmakers during a baseball practice last year, as an example of radicalized Democrats. Trump, conservatives like right-wing host Paul Joseph Watson said, deserves no more blame than Sanders did for the shooting.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made a similar argument on Twitter:
Republican Naval War College professor Tom Nichols said the comparison was not “unreasonable” but added that “Sanders wasn’t praising violence and holding massive hate rallies where he named specific opponents while celebrating body-slamming journalists and offering to pay the legal of fees of people who get arrested.”
