PLANTATION, Fla. – A Florida man has been arrested in connection with a series of suspicious packages sent to major political figures, according to officials with the Department of Justice.
DOJ officials identified the suspect as Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura. FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators matched fingerprints found on one of the packages that had been sent to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California to the suspect. Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials were able to confirm the DNA found on the packages belonged to Sayoc.
Read more of what we know about the suspect.
Sayoc was taken into custody at an Auto Zone store in Plantation, Florida.
Wray said 13 improvised explosive devices were sent across the country, however, others could still be in transit.
"We need the help of citizens and law enforcement to help in the days to come," Wray said.
The packages originated from a mail facility in Opa-locka, about 20 miles south of Plantation, and had return addresses listed for U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz, D-Florida.
Investigators at the auto shop scene Friday could be seen taking pictures of Sayoc's white van covered in political stickers. FBI officials covered the van with a blue tarp before it was towed out of the parking lot.
Sayoc has an extensive criminal history in Broward County.
In 2002, he was convicted of threatening to blow up a Florida Power and Light facility and harm the representative who spoke to him if the company turned off his electricity.
NOW: I just got to the AutoZone where dozens of other news outlets have descended after Sayoc was arrested here this morning. @news6wkmg What we’re learning from the scene at 4 pic.twitter.com/21SG6MTJtx
— Nadeen Yanes (@NadeenNews6) October 26, 2018
Sayoc said the 2002 attack would be "worse than September 11th," according to the incident report. Court records show he served a year of probation for the incident.
A Twitter account that the FBI officials confirmed is operated by Sayoc under the username @hardrock2016, regularly posts criticisms of Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, billionaire George Soros, the Affordable Care Act and other Democratic elected officials.
Sayoc misspelled many of the political leaders' names in his tweets. The same misspellings matched some of the address labels on the packages sent to Democratic officials, according to the complaint filed against Sayoc by the DOJ.
Sayoc has been charged with five crimes, including illegally mailing explosives, illegally transporting explosives, making threats against former presidents, assaulting federal officers and threatening interstate commerce. He faces 58 years in prison.
The suspect will be prosecuted in New York, where five of the 13 devices were found.
"We will bring the full force of law to anyone who uses violence to further their agenda," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.
President Donald Trump, in his first remarks since Sayoc was apprehended in Florida, declared that "we must never allow political violence (to) take root in America."
Trump declared that "these terrorizing acts are despicable" and said Americans "must unify."
Officials have located 13 devices addressed in recent days to Democratic figures, including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.
The FBI said Friday that a package addressed to Sen. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, was intercepted in Florida. Another was discovered at a Manhattan postal facility and was addressed to former National Intelligence Director James Clapper at CNN's address.
The targets have all been high-profile critics of President Trump.
This is a developing story. Stay with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com.