A suspicious package addressed to Senator Cory Booker was intercepted by authorities, Fox News is reporting. This is the 11th potentially dangerous delivery in a string of suspected pipe bombs being sent to Democratic politicians or locations of people who have expressed Democratic viewpoints in the past. The FBI confirmed they recovered a package addressed to Booker on Friday, October 26, in Florida. Reportedly, this package is similar to the other packages from the last few days, leading many to suspect that all of the packages are the work of the same culprit.
The NYPD has said they are also currently investigating a potentially destructive package sent to a location on 52nd Street in New York City, although not much is known about the intended recipient yet. Over the past three days, suspected bombs have been addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden, actor and vocal Trump opponent Robert De Niro, former president President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, liberal-leaning billionare Geroge Soros, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA Director John Brennan, and California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters. According to Fox News , the return addresses were all for an office for Florida Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI,” Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
“We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages. We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation.”
I agree wholeheartedly! https://t.co/ndzu0A30vU
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2018
President Donald Trump has officially condemned these “threats of political violence.” Some politicians, however, have hit back at Trump and claimed he incited these violent acts. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement where they called for Trump to retract statements he made in the past that condoned acts of violence. In an event in Austin, Texas Wednesday night, Brennan seemed to agree with Pelosi and Schumer’s viewpoint.
“Unfortunately, I think Donald Trump too often has helped to incite some of these feelings of anger, if not violence, when he points to acts of violence or also talks about swinging at somebody from the press or the media,” Brennan said the crowd.
“So, I’m hoping this is going to make clear to him that what he has done heretofore as far as a lot of this rhetoric really is counterproductive. It is un-American. It is what a president should not be doing.”
