NEW YORK (Reuters) – The man suspected of sending at least a dozen parcel bombs to high-profile critics of U.S. President Donald Trump is a 56-year-old registered Republican in Florida with a lengthy criminal history.
Public records showed Cesar Sayoc has been arrested numerous times over the years, including one case in which he was accused of threatening to use a bomb.
Sayoc was taken into custody on Friday morning outside an auto parts store in Plantation, Florida, federal authorities said.
Sayoc’s white van, which was seized by authorities, had numerous stickers showing President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as well as a “CNN SUCKS” sign, according to a screenshot posted on Twitter by a CNN reporter.
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Sayoc is a promoter, booking agent and “live entertainment owner,” according to his LinkedIn profile, which listed him as the owner of International Gold Productions.
He filed for bankruptcy in Miami in 2012, according to court records. At the time, Sayoc said he lived with his mother in Aventura, Florida, and listed a $1,150 tax refund and a 2001 Chevy Tahoe vehicle as his only assets.
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- Police respond to a report of a suspicious package in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., October 26, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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- FILE PHOTO: A combination photo of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (L) speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 10, 2017 and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts, Jim Bourg/File Photos
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- Postal workers stand on the street during a report of a suspicious package in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., October 26, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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- Law enforcement officers stand near a van which was seized during an investigation into a series of parcel bombs, in Plantation, Florida October 26, 2018 in a still image fro video. WPLG/Handout via REUTERS
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- Law enforcement officers stand near a van which was seized during an investigation into a series of parcel bombs, in Plantation, Florida October 26, 2018 in a still image fro video. WPLG/Handout via REUTERS
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- A law enforcement officer checks a van which was seized during an investigation into a series of parcel bombs, in Plantation, Florida October 26, 2018 in a still image fro video. WPLG/Handout via REUTERS
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- (Top L-R) Actor Robert De Niro, U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party donor George Soros and former U.S. President Barack Obama, (Bottom L-R) former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and former CIA director John Brennan are pictured in a combination photograph from Reuters file photos. REUTERS/File Photos
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- FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a reception commemorating the 35th anniversary of the attack on the Beirut Barracks in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, U.S., October 25, 2018. REUTERS/Al Drago
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- U.S. President Donald Trump gives two thumbs up as he talks about the arrest of a bombing suspect sought in connection with packages sent to Democratic political figures and critics of the president during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
