This Aug. 30, 2015, file photo released by the Broward County Sheriff’s office shows Cesar Sayoc in Miami. Pipe bomb suspect Sayoc is making his first court appearance in New York on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)NEW YORK (AP) – A Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump in a wave of attacks that harmed no one but spread fear of political violence across the U.S. for days leading up to last fall’s midterm elections.
Cesar Sayoc, 57, sobbed as he entered the plea before a federal judge in New York.
“I’m extremely sorry,” he said, adding that he never intended for the devices to explode.
He could get life in prison at sentencing Sept. 12 on 65 counts, including using weapons of mass destruction and mailing explosives with intent to kill. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a charge that carried a mandatory life sentence.
Sayoc was accused of sending rudimentary bombs – none of which detonated – to 16 targets, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, several members of Congress, former President Barack Obama and actor Robert De Niro. Devices were also mailed to CNN offices in New York and Atlanta.