Bombing Suspect Charged, but National Nerves Remain Frayed
*By Carlo Versano*
After a week of political finger-pointing and frayed national nerves ahead of a major election, a Florida man is in custody on federal charges that he sent at least 13 live explosive devices to prominent former and current Democratic officials, a news organization, a Hollywood actor, and liberal donors.
The latest device was intercepted in California, en route to Tom Steyer, a Democratic donor who has spent millions advocating for Trump's impeachment.
Federal authorities announced the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Fla., at the end of a week that began with a crude pipe bomb being discovered in the mailbox of George Soros, a left-leaning philanthropist vilified by the right.
As more bombs were found ー from the leafy suburbs of New York City to sprawling mail sorting facilities in Delaware ー and buildings evacuated, it became clear that a serial bomber was using the U.S. postal service to harm opponents and critics of the president and instill fear in a country wracked by political polarization just under two weeks before a pivotal U.S. election.
"This is a law and order administration," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions, announcing the five counts against Sayoc, which include mailing explosives and making threats against former presidents.
"We will not tolerate such lawlessness," Sessions said. He added that Sayoc "appears to be a partisan."
FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators were able to pull a fingerprint from one of the two devices mailed to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), which, along with other pieces of DNA, matched Sayoc's DNA from a prior arrest. "Today's arrest doesn't mean we're out of the woods," Wray said, cautioning that more devices may still be undiscovered in the postal system.
Wray made a point of saying that the devices were "not hoax devices" but real explosives. He would not comment on whether any were "functional." It was unclear if Wray was reacting to President Trump, who earlier lamented that the "'Bomb' stuff," using quotations around "bomb," was hurting GOP momentum going into Election Day.
Conspiracy theories have flooded the internet positing that the mail bombs were a "false flag" operation. "False flag" believers, including some high-profile conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, have speculated that the mail bombs were sent by a Democratic sympathizer who wanted to villainize Republicans in the eyes of voters going to the polls.
At least one of them, Geraldo Rivera, backed down after hearing the charges against Sayoc on Friday afternoon: "Never mind; outsmarted myself in conjuring false flag operation designed to hurt @realDonaldTrump & #GOP," he wrote in a tweet. "Actual alleged perp 56-year old #CesarSayoc is apparently stereotype most media assumed: a middle-aged, rabid, extreme right winger w a troubled past & long criminal record."
Sayoc was arrested at an Autozone store in the Miami suburb of Plantation, Fla. Cheddar's J.D. Durkin was there and spoke to the manager of a nearby business who witnessed the arrest. Tom Fiore, the president of West Broward Community Management, told Durkin he knew it was tied to the nationwide manhunt when he saw members of the NYPD in Florida.
Erin Blake, a senior political reporter at the Washington Post who has been following the story all week, told Cheddar that "all the evidence seems to be pointing in the right direction." With the threat subsiding, Blake said, this is a good time to figure out "who we are as a country."
Sessions, Wray, and other federal authorities praised the coordinated response and investigation. Trump added his plaudits for law enforcement on Twitter, though Blake said he doubted the events would lead to much of a cooling off period in terms of the heated political rhetoric, adding, "The president has shown that he is not terribly chastened by this whole thing."
After the Chicago teachers union voted to work remotely due to what they say is a lack of safety protocols amid the COVID-19 surge, the school system canceled classes on Wednesday, citing harm that remote learning has done to the city's children. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, joined Cheddar to discuss the issues surrounding the latest dispute between educators and schools. She said that the return to in-person learning would likely be halted until more COVID tests could be provided for districts. "This is a terrible situation for everybody, and we need the testing, and we need the masks," she said. "It's the omicron surge that has created this disruption, and we are trying to do the best we can. And this is the only school district that has this kind of action right now." The teachers might not be returning to their schools for at least two weeks amid the ongoing tensions.
Illinois State Senator Robert Martwick joins Cheddar News to discuss the new bill he co-sponsored allowing students in the state to take 5 mental health days without a doctor's note.
On Monday, President Biden announced his new plan to take on inflation by taking down the big meat monopolies - turning to the federal government's antitrust authorities to investigate the major meatpackers that control a significant share of the market. The White House plans to devote one billion dollars to aiding independent meat and poultry producers in an effort to undercut the few powerful meat producers that have control of the sector. Austin Frerick, deputy director of Thurman Arnold Project at Yale, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
As the pandemic drags on, so does the widespread great resignation. In November alone, 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs, marking a new record high, and showing a 9 percent jump from the month prior. On the flip side, the number of people filing tax paperwork to start new businesses is surging, with over 430,000 new businesses launching in November. Rhett Buttle, the founder of Public Private Strategies and national business advisor to the Biden for President campaign, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is ramping up a civil investigation into The Trump Organization. The AG's office has subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. They have refused to comply with the subpoenas. Bradley Moss, national security attorney, joins Cheddar News to discuss the next steps in this investigation.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has officially reduced the 110-year prison sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos to 10 years, calling the initial lengthy sentence “unjust.” Dan Gilleon, constitutional attorney at Gilleon Law Firm APC, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Former Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was sworn in as the newest Mayor of New York City. Adams is now expected to work on a number of issues such as crime and coronavirus. Erin Durkin,, reporter at PoliticoNY, joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
As the U.S. comes up on the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection.,A.C. Thompson, investigative reporter at ProPublica, joined Cheddar's Baker Machado to discuss updates to American Insurrection by FRONTLINE, ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program. The documentary investigates the attack on the Capitol touched off by the lie that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump but with new information gleaned since the event including interviews with lawmakers and law enforcement and the evolution of groups like the Boogaloo Boys and the Proud Boys behind the attack. "In some ways those groups that were kind of the vanguard of January 6 are maybe no longer relevant because their message is everywhere," he said.
