US mail bombing suspect to face charges in New York

Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man accused of sending pipe bombs to critics of US President Donald Trump, is to be transferred to New York to face prosecution, the Miami Herald reported Friday.

Sayoc’s attorneys told a Miami federal judge that they would argue at a detention hearing in New York for his release on bond, the newspaper said.

Federal prosecutors said they would oppose his release.

Sayoc, 56, was arrested a week ago and charged with mailing explosive devices to former president Barack Obama, former vice president Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, actor Robert De Niro and others.

Sayoc was living in a van plastered with pro-Trump and anti-Democrat stickers when he was arrested at an auto store in Plantation, Florida.

Sayoc, a registered Republican with a criminal history and reported past as a stripper, currently faces up to 48 years in prison, although further charges are expected to be filed against him for the mail-bombing campaign, which heightened political tensions and put the country on edge ahead of November midterm elections.

The explosive devices were sent through the mail and Sayoc was tracked down based on fingerprint and possible DNA evidence, according to the FBI.

Law enforcement sources told the Miami Herald that a list of more than 100 potential Democratic targets had been found during a search of Sayoc’s laptop computer.