Map courtesy of Google Maps
Dec. 4, 2018
By Andrew Estafanous
Staff Writer
Two weeks before the national midterm elections, a series of suspicious and potentially explosive packages addressed to high-ranking Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump were intercepted.
On Oct. 24, at least seven suspicious packages were delivered to Democratic politicians and media figures, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Those packages were sent to multiple locations in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C.
The hunt intensified the following day as the FBI announced that three more suspected pipe bombs had been found—one in actor Robert De Niro’s Manhattan office and two in mail facilities in Delaware addressed to former vice president Joe Biden.
At least 10 possible bombs were sent to various locations and intercepted since Oct. 22. Most of the packages were mailed in manila envelopes with six Forever stamps and a computer-printed address label showing a return address for “Debbie Wasserman Shultz,” a misspelled name for the Florida congresswoman, according to the FBI.
Fifty-six-year-old suspect Cesar Sayoc was arrested on Oct. 26 and charged with a string of crimes in connection with the pipe bombs. He was picked up by police in Plantation, Florida at an AutoZone car parts shop. His white van, which was plastered with bombastic stickers expressing support for Trump and hatred for the Democratic Party, was taken away as well.
Senior Kyle Crispina, who is interested in government and politics, said he considers Sayoc’s actions to be acts of violence and said the nation should work together to condemn them.
“I think the perpetrator’s motive was to scare the people who were criticizing or were criticized by Trump so they wouldn’t speak out against him,” Crispina said.
Before this attack, Sayoc posted threats, conspiracy theories and almost exclusively pro-Trump pictures and videos on Twitter and Facebook.
Sayoc is now being charged with a 30 count criminal indictment. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Crispina said Sayoc deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison because of his attempts to commit terrorist acts.
“I personally feel threatened by the attacks since they seem to be quite an ominous thing to happen to a person and make me worry about the safety of the mail I receive,” Crispina said. “This incident shows that our country is greatly divided by political ideologies, and that it is only getting worse since it appears that these attacks are appearing much more frequently on both sides.”
Senior Brian Arroyave, who follows politics, said he sees Sayoc’s attacks as being motivated by political extremism.
“There are people in this world who truly have such radical beliefs that it is not surprising for an attack to be aimed towards one section of people,” Arroyave said. “This act shows how twisted our society and government is. It shows that anyone has the ability to take radical actions at any time towards anyone, and that truly is the scariest fact.”
Arroyave said these events indicate that political officials have a higher chance of getting attacked.
“I personally feel safe because I do not think I would get hurt. However, I do feel like our country will never be safe because of how twisted and corrupt the world is,” Arroyave said.
Advanced Placement Government and Politics teacher Mr. Clifford said in his class, he was mainly focusing on the campaign leading up to the midterm election, though he briefly mentioned Sayoc’s attempted attacks.
“Many things could’ve triggered Sayoc to do this, but I believe it was mental illness, party polarization, extreme right wing websites and, most importantly, election season,” Clifford said.
Clifford said Americans were very lucky that the bombs never actually went off.
“There would have been much more panic. The government would have made a bigger deal of the situation,” Clifford said, adding that it is important for the U.S. Postal Service to improve its security regarding package bombs since they pose a severe threat to safety and security.
Like Crispina and Arroyave, Clifford said Sayoc needs to bear the consequences for what he has done.
“Life without parole is what Cesar Sayoc should face with no questions asked,” said Clifford.
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