USA: Suspect charged in letter bomb series in five points

After the arrest in the case of the letter bomb series in the US, the suspect has been charged. US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday at a press conference. The suspect is therefore responsible for, among other things, the illegal shipment of explosives and threats against former presidents. In total, there were five charges. If he is found guilty, he is threatened with 58 years in prison.

FBI chief Christopher Wray confirmed at the press conference that the detainee is 56-year-old Cesar S. The security authorities arrested him in Florida on Friday.

REUTERS

Cesar S.

The man was arrested in the parking lot of a shop for auto parts in the city's Plantation in the state of Florida. Fingerprints and DNA were consistent with investigator samples.

It seems that the main suspect is a Trump supporter. TV images related to the arrest show a white minivan with Trump images and the presidential seal.

13 letters with explosives, not mere attractions

Wray said at the joint press conference with Sessions that at least 13 letters had been sent with explosives. Even if the investigations of these apparatuses are not yet completed, it can already be said that they are not mere dummies. They had materials that could potentially explode. The director of the Federal Police warned that more of the mail bombs might be on the way.

Sessions and Wray did not want to comment on the possible motives of the man. But it was still "too early," said the FBI chief.

Since Monday, a total of twelve of the potentially dangerous broadcasts had surfaced to critics of President Donald Trump. The suspicious packages were addressed to prominent Democratic politicians such as former President Barack Obama, whose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ex-CIA director John Brennan addressed, but were intercepted in time. Nobody was hurt.

US President Donald Trump was informed by representatives of the Ministry of Justice about the arrest of the suspect. These "terrorizing acts" have "no place in our country," said Trump. It should not be allowed to establish political violence in the US.

Trump had previously complained that the bombing raid hit his Republican party in the closing stages of the congressional election campaign. "This bomber" meant that the momentum in favor of his party had "slowed down a lot" because the news was no longer about "politics", he wrote shortly before the announcement of the first arrest in the short message service Twitter. This was "very regrettable".

Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this "Bomb" stuff happens and the momentum is huge - news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what's going on. Republicans, go out and vote!

After the findings of the alleged bombs Trump had called for more decency in the political debate. At the same time he also gave the media a complicity. "The media also has a responsibility to set a civilized tone and stop the endless hostility and constant negative and often false attacks and stories," he said at a campaign event.

The padded envelopes were each stamped with six stamps and contributed according to the Federal Police in at least five cases as sender the name of the deputies Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was from 2011 to 2016 party leader of the Democratic Party. The addresses were printed and not written by hand.

At least in some of the twelve packages were plastic tubes with black powder and detonators. The FBI initially assumed that they could have exploded.