FL Mail Bomber Sentenced

New York, NY August 8, 2019 – Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector in Charge (INC) of the New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service announced today that Cesar Altieri Sayoc was sentenced today to 20 years in prison in connection with his mailing of 16 improvised explosive devices to victims across the country.

Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “There should never be another time in our country’s history when someone, based on a twisted political ideology, chooses to use the U.S. Mail to terrorize high profile and political figures. Mr. Sayoc’s crimes were outrageous and unconscionable.”

According to authorities: In October 2018, Sayoc mailed from Florida 16 padded envelopes, each containing an improvised explosive device (“IED”), to addresses in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Georgia, and California.

In alphabetical order, SAYOC’S intended victims were former Vice President Joseph Biden, Senator Cory Booker, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CNN, Robert De Niro, Senator Kamala Harris, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama, George Soros, Thomas Steyer, and Representative Maxine Walters.

Between October 22 and November 2, 2018, all of the16 IEDs mailed by SAYOC were recovered. Each of the IEDs mailed by SAYOC contained a mix of explosive powder from fireworks, shards of glass, and pool chemicals, designed to maximize potential injuries, damage, and the burning of his intended victims’ skin.

On the outside of each IED, SAYOC placed photographs of each of the victims, and sometimes their families and others, with a red “X” over the victims’ faces. SAYOC also affixed black flags, similar in appearance to banners used by ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations, to the outside of the IEDs.

Sayoc was arrested in Plantation, Florida, on October 26, 2018, and pled guilty to a 65-count Superseding Information on March 21, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who also imposed today’s sentence.