Cesar Sayoc, the suspect in the case of 16 pipe bombs sent to journalists, liberal politicians, and other figures who opposed President Trump, has pleaded guilty before a federal judge in New York, according to the Associated Press. Sayoc’s guilty plea will scuttle the need for a trial that was planned for this summer.
Back in October of last year, Sayoc was arrested for sending over a dozen pipe bombs to targets like Trump’s former presidential opponent Hillary Clinton, liberal philanthropist George Soros, actor Robert DeNiro, and the cable network CNN. None of the bombs exploded, but their appearance on the doorsteps of prominent liberal figures and media companies sent shockwaves across the country.
Shortly after his arrest, it was discovered that Sayoc was a huge Trump fan—he’d been living in a van covered with Trump stickers and conservative propaganda as he sent out the bombs. Sayoc was apparently kicked out of his mother’s house in 2015, and began living in the van. Sayoc and his mother, who was a Democrat, fought frequently, and she says he refused to seek treatment for mental illness.
According to The Daily Beast, a manager at the pizza restaurant where Sayoc has previously worked described him as “anti-black, anti-gay, anti-Jews.”
“If you want to know about causation, there are three reasons,” Sayoc’s lawyer, Ronald Lowy, told The Daily Beast.
“Number one: He was isolated from his family. Number two: He hated his mother for being a Democrat—this is a nice way to get back at her, don’t you think? And the third: He heard a voice calling his name, saying that there’s a war happening, that the Democrats are the enemy, that the media is the enemy, and that you are my soldiers.”
In response to Sayoc’s arrest, Trump responded in typical fashion.
“I’ve instructed authorities to spare no resource or expense in finding those responsible and bringing them to swift and certain justice, and we will prosecute them, him, her, whoever it may be to the fullest extent of the law,” Trump said before planned remarks at the Young Black Leadership Summit on the day of Sayoc’s arrest.
The president didn’t mention any connection between his oft-stated foes and the targets of the bombs. However, he did make time to note that “no one gets attacked more than me.”