Trump ‘superfan’ sent bombs to CNN, Obama and Clintons

Cesar Sayoc came to view president as ‘surrogate father’, new filings claim

A man who sent mail pipe bombs to media outlets and high profile Democrats was a Donald Trump “superfan” who came to consider the president as a “surrogate father”, his lawyers have said.

Cesar Sayoc admitted to posting the crudely made packages to CNN, Barack Obama, George Sorors and Hillary Clinton as well as other prominent figures, weeks before the 2018 midterm elections.

He pleaded guilty to explosives-related charges in March but is yet to be sentenced.

Mr Sayoc’s lawyers argue that he should spend no more than 10 years and one month in prison.

They claim the Florida native is a Trump “superfan”, who “began to consider Democrats as not just dangerous in theory, but imminently and seriously dangerous to his personal safety.”

“President Trump did nothing to dissuade this message,” the lawyers write, in a memo filed at a New York court on Monday.

“Because of [Mr Sayoc’s] cognitive limitations and mental illness, he believed outlandish reports in the news and on social media, which increasingly made him unhinged.

“He became obsessed with ‘attacks’ from those he perceived as Trump’s enemies.

“He believed stories shared on Facebook that Trump supporters were being beaten in the streets.

“He came to believe that he was being personally targeted for supporting Trump: Mr. Sayoc thought that anti-Trump forces were trying to hurt him and they were to blame when his van was vandalized.”

The public defenders cited an FBI report released last week saying the pipe bombs would not have successfully detonated, arguing the packages were hoaxes and that no one was hurt.

But prosecutors argue that the Florida native should receive life in prison, to “adequately deter acts of domestic terrorism aimed at silencing and intimidating government officials.”

They say Mr Sayoc hasn’t “fully accepted responsibility” for his actions.

The Florida resident faces a mandatory 10-year-term due to the seriousness of the charges.

He has been held without bail since his late-October arrest at a South Florida auto parts store.

At the time, he had been living in a van covered with Trump stickers and images of Trump opponents with crosshairs over their faces.

Mr Sayoc will be sentenced on 5 August.

Additional reporting by agencies