On Friday, President Donald Trump revealed his thoughts on the arrest of the main suspect in a string of attempted mail bombings. The suspected culprit saw at least a dozen bombs mailed to well-known figures in the Democratic party, former members of the intelligence community, and even the television network CNN, according to reports from Business Insider .
Trump said while speaking at the Young Black Leadership Summit, “These terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country. We must never allow political violence to take root in America. Cannot let it happen. I’m committed to doing everything in my power as President to stop it. To stop it now. Stop it now.”
Trump went on to pay tribute to law enforcement officials in the NYPD, FBI, and U.S. Postal Service for their dedication and skill in preventing any of the bombs from going off — and for quickly apprehending the suspect, 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc.
Trump said, “The bottom line is that Americans must unify and we must show the world that we are united together in peace, love, and harmony as fellow American citizens.”
The chaos began on Wednesday morning, when a package addressed to billionaire George Soros was discovered to have an explosive device attached.
“We must never allow political violence to take root in America… and I’m committed to doing everything in my power as president to stop it,” President Trump says. “Stop it now.” https://t.co/sTkWT0d8u7 pic.twitter.com/aX8FrljQ5O
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 26, 2018
Sayoc was arrested in Plantation, Florida, on Friday morning. He is accused of sending the package to Soros, as well as of sending similar packages to Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Obamas, Joe Biden, actor Robert De Niro, Senator Cory Booker, and Representative Maxine Waters.
A package allegedly sent by Sayoc also caused the evacuation of the Time Warner building in New York City — home of the television network CNN — with the package in question being addressed to former CIA director John Brennan.
A spokesman for the NYPD confirmed in a press conference on Thursday that the package that was sent to the CNN offices has since been transported to Quantico, Virginia, where it can be analyzed at an FBI testing facility.
Trump’s response signals a shift in tone from earlier on Friday, when before Sayoc’s arrest he implied that the bombs were a tactic being used by the Democrats to take away “momentum” from the Republican party, as covered by the Inquisitr .
Taking to Twitter, Trump said, “Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this “Bomb” stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows — news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!”
