Vox - Florida man arrested in connection with pipe bombs sent to Trump criticshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2018-10-27T13:00:02-04:00http://www.vox.com/rss/stream/177885912018-10-27T13:00:02-04:002018-10-27T13:00:02-04:00The pipe bomb suspect’s van, explained
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Wi3exIaWLWWDk1kOdc9oo_K8oDI=/207x0:2304x1573/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61932041/GettyImages_1053868368.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The van believed to be owned by bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr. of Aventura, Florida, is transferred to the FBI Headquarter in Miramar, Florida, on Friday October 26, 2018. | Carline Jeant/South Florida Sun Sentinel</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Complete with references to a Native American tribe, soccer — and lots of Trump memes.</p> <p id="kDLC5M">Soon after officials announced the arrest of <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18027244/cesar-sayoc-arrest-pipe-bomb-mail-suspect">Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr.</a>, who is accused of sending <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18029462/fbi-bombs-clinton-soros-obama-hoax-not-mail-sessions">pipe bombs to prominent Democratic figures</a>, cable news offered the first window into the Florida man’s state of mind when they aired footage of his vehicle: a white van covered in pro-Trump and anti-media and anti-liberal imagery. </p>
<p id="nUTaeV">And like social media accounts that were allegedly <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18028880/cesar-sayoc-pipe-bomber-twitter-facebook-social-media">run by Sayoc</a>, his van was a platform to show his support of President Donald Trump that verged on the obsessive, and to denigrate Trump’s perceived opposition — some of whom would receive bombs in the mail. </p>
<p id="L13SdB">The van was noticeable enough to be recognized by television producer David Cypkin, who had photographed it back in December 2017 and shared the photos with his business partner, Billy Corben, who <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyCorben/status/1055934913457909763">posted</a> them on Twitter on Friday. The van was also <a href="https://twitter.com/DrumGearReview/status/1055847813429506049">spotted</a> in Asheville, North Carolina, in 2017.</p>
<p id="8wRfhy">These are not conventional political bumper stickers. Most of them are images rooted in internet memes. Others reference throwback Obama-era scandals like <a href="https://www.vox.com/cards/benghazi-ambassador-stevens-attack/benghazi-basics">Benghazi</a> and the <a href="https://www.vox.com/cards/irs-scandal-explained/what-is-the-irs-scandal">IRS</a>.</p>
<p id="8OQGqk">To get a deeper understanding of how Sayoc thinks about politics, it’s worth going through where these images come from.</p>
<h3 id="xP2wje">“No George Soros globalist”</h3>
<p id="90eend">The focus of Sayoc’s van was railing against Trump’s purported enemies in support of the man Sayoc described as “A man of his word over 40 years”</p>
<p id="WIsCJA">According to the Washington Post, Sayoc <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/10/26/who-is-cesar-altieri-sayoc-what-we-know-about-suspected-mail-bomber-arrested-florida/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5c3745d8bad0">mentioned</a> George Soros 34 times, Barack Obama 29 times, and Hillary Clinton 21 times on his Twitter feed, and many of the memes he used on Twitter made their way to his van, with Sayoc calling <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17405784/george-soros-not-a-nazi-trump">Soros</a> a “globalist socialist progressive Democrat.” </p>
<p id="d21N1k">Sayoc, a registered Republican since March 2016, also put statements praising Florida Republicans Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis — both running for office this year — on his van. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4qK6vQXq7udqH5gGltkqpYDHhuA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13341435/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_5.45.11_PM.png">
<cite>The Sun-Sentinel.</cite>
<figcaption>From the van reportedly belonging to Cesar Sayoc.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="A7ISqp">One of the memes Sayoc used on both his social media and his van, “The Swamp to be Drained,” lists alleged scandals of the Obama administration, like the existence of Black Lives Matter, the Department of Justice’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/1/28/7927257/republicans-holder-lynch">Fast and Furious</a> debacle and “Obama’s illegal executive orders.” </p>
<p id="XcGBL0">These appeared alongside pictures of Democratic figures like former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, and former interim Democratic Party Chair Donna Brazile. </p>
<p id="LK1BYA">The meme also shows mainstream news figures, like MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, NBC’s Chuck Todd, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uxJWrEJoKcdjW1R9YxzRONF67cc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13341089/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_4.13.43_PM.png">
<figcaption>From Cesar Sayoc’s Twitter feed. </figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="DNotZD">The <a href="https://www.vox.com/cards/irs-scandal-explained/what-is-the-irs-scandal">“IRS scandal”</a> is also featured, as is an image of Lois Lerner, an IRS official during the scandal. From 2006 to 2013, Lerner <a href="https://www.vox.com/cards/irs-scandal-explained/who-is-lois-lerner">ran the IRS’s Exempt Organizations division</a>, which oversees organizations seeking tax-exempt status. In 2013, an Inspector Generals’ report found that Lerner’s division had unfairly targeted conservative and right-leaning groups when they applied for tax exemptions, though Lerner claimed to have done nothing wrong. (The Trump Department of Justice has <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-lois-lerner-irs-doj-20170908-story.html">since declined to charge</a> Lerner based on a lack of evidence.)</p>
<p id="ulFOl7">The Obamas, the Clintons, Holder, and CNN were among the recipients of the devices Sayoc allegedly mailed, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/24/18018574/cnn-bomb-threat-newsroom-evacuated">resulting</a> in the evacuation of CNN’s New York headquarters. </p>
<h3 id="KuRpMK">“America back” </h3>
<p id="lMwsYX">Sayoc’s van also features multiple images of celebrities who support Trump, like country music singers Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood (singer of 1984’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps7xmW-9LXQ">“I’m Proud to Be An American”</a>). </p>
<p id="UpjEo2">It also shows a reference to Trump’s Electoral College win in 2016, stating that Trump earned 306 Electoral votes. However, Trump won <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/16/14639058/trump-electoral-college-win">304 electoral college votes</a>, not 306 — the 306 number is a reference to the number of pledged electors the president won, but two of those electors <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/which-candidates-did-the-seven-faithless-electors-support-election-2016/">became “faithless electors”</a> and did not vote for the candidate that won their states. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ODrCfbxfmJlnKS0TS1xoSPHd87E=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13341151/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_4.46.10_PM.png">
<cite>The Guardian</cite>
<figcaption>From the van reportedly belonging to Cesar Sayoc.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="NHDn7b">Sayoc also put up some of the Trump administration’s job creation numbers from 2017 on his van, along with commentary like, “America back.” (The 28,000 number might more accurately refer to the number of <a href="https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/us-adds-28000-jobs-manufacturing-and-8000-government">manufacturing</a> jobs added in February 2017, not the number of all new jobs created that month.)</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a2jFzcty9upx1REChveJP_dTL6M=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13341419/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_5.41.50_PM.png">
<cite>The Sun-Sentinel.</cite>
<figcaption>From the van reportedly belonging to Cesar Sayoc.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="JVSz0J">And on his front passenger window, he added another message: “Zero tolerance kill your enemy and those who rob you then take them to Everglade for gators.” </p>
<p id="Bdw6lA">Earlier this month, Sayoc also used the threat of the Everglades on Twitter against a former Congressional press secretary, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6321803/Political-pundit-reported-MAGABOMBER-Twitter-making-death-threats-appeared-Fox.html">telling her</a>, “So you like make threats. We Unconquered Seminole Tribe will answer your threats. We have nice silent Air boat ride for u here on our land Everglades Swamp. We will see you 4 sure. Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave home.” </p>
<p id="L3o4di">He then took photos he believed to be of her and shared them — alongside photographs of human body parts being consumed by alligators. </p>
<p id="HbW7Mx">She reported his Twitter account, but was told his tweets did not constitute “abusive behavior.”</p>
<h3 id="73zEL2">“Native Americans” and “Top Youth Soccer Recruits” for Trump</h3>
<p id="SyRfn7">Alongside images of President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, Sayoc’s van, like his Twitter feed, features images that reference his alleged Native American heritage. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/itQLLMrT-rAczHJy-S77uPHGKXM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13341305/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_12.26.59_PM.png">
<figcaption>From Cesar Sayoc’s Twitter Feed. </figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="dH2Lk6">Though the Seminole Tribe of Florida <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/seminole-tribe-florida-bomb-suspect-cesar-sayoc-747926/">has since said that</a> Sayoc was not a member of the tribe, his van features signage like “Native Americans for Trump” over the <a href="https://www.flagsexpo.com/flags/Flags/Native-Americans-Tribe-Flags/Seminole-Tribe-Flags/5579?gclid=CjwKCAjw9sreBRBAEiwARroYm8LWOJ4N32Q2LeoFoVc6eVkDVaT8WaQhZhgEJNliHl0D3Y6uOmYTCBoC7KwQAvD_BwE">flag of the Seminole Tribe of Florida</a>. </p>
<p id="78c6eL">On Sayoc’s Twitter feed, he frequently mentioned the “Unconquered Seminole Tribe,” a reference to the <a href="http://seminoles.com/seminoles-heroic-symbol-at-florida-state/">fact</a> that the Seminole Tribe never signed a peace agreement with the United States government and were never defeated in battle by government forces. The symbol at the center of the flag is a <a href="https://www.semtribe.com/Culture/Chickee.aspx">chickee</a>, a form of housing widely used by members of the Seminole tribe and is representative of the Seminole Tribal Council. </p>
<p id="xDxWJk">And Sayoc was also a fan of mixed martial arts; his van <a href="https://americantopteam.com/">features</a> a sticker for America’s Top Team, a mixed martial arts gym located in Coconut Grove, Florida. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c206vM6GonouL0XsgKmy-TEJ804=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13341091/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_11.58.04_AM.png">
<cite>The Sun-Sentinel.</cite>
<figcaption>From the van reportedly belonging to Cesar Sayoc.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="3b9uAb">Perhaps the second-biggest theme on Sayoc’s van, besides Donald Trump and Trump’s opponents, is soccer, specifically at the University of North Carolina. After <a href="https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/10/26/cesar-sayoc-mail-bomb-suspect-florida-man-brevard-college-north-carolina-clinton-obama-trump-critics/1776437002/">attending</a> Brevard College (a small school in North Carolina) for three semesters, Sayoc was a walk-on to the University of North Carolina Charlotte soccer team in 1983, playing for six to eight weeks and appearing in 11 games (but mostly spending time on the bench.) </p>
<p id="EVBtAj">According to Mark Colone, who was University of North Carolina Charlotte’s sports information director in 1983 and <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article220672425.html">spoke</a> to the Charlotte Observer on Friday:</p>
<blockquote><p id="M0CTQv">“He ran hard all the time and was always gung-ho. He’d go through one of his own players to get the ball. He wore a gold chain when he played and that really irritated a referee, who ripped it off him and slammed it on the scorer’s table and it got caught on the air horn.” </p></blockquote>
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/27/18027426/pipe-bomb-clinton-obama-van-memes-trumpJane Coaston2018-10-27T10:00:11-04:002018-10-27T10:00:11-04:00Trump decries “political violence” at rally, then attacks the media and Democrats
<figure>
<img alt="President Donald Trump at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina in October 2018." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iXvI-AZZjazOoEvkohRaCuJZmTY=/167x0:2834x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61931157/1054044710.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>President Donald Trump at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina in October 2018. | Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s back to business as usual.</p> <p id="J6JCrI">President <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/26/18029958/trump-pipe-bomb-cesar-soyac-obama-clinton-cnn">Donald Trump</a> opened a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday decrying “political violence” after pipe bomb suspect <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18027244/cesar-sayoc-arrest-pipe-bomb-mail-suspect">Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr.</a> was charged with sending bombs to 13 prominent Democrats and critics of the president. But that nonpartisan message didn’t last long: He then transitioned into a regular Trump rally, complete with the typical “lock her up” chants and attacks on the media.</p>
<p id="FcLArQ">Trump has offered a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/26/18029958/trump-pipe-bomb-cesar-soyac-obama-clinton-cnn">dissatisfying response</a> to the bombs sent to figures such as former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and news outlet CNN this week. He seems to recognize that a typical presidential response would be to call for unity and denounce violence, but he can’t stay away from some of his divisive rhetoric. </p>
<p id="oyL1Gk">Friday’s rally at the Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte was no different: Trump began with an attempt at a measured response, and then even within those opening remarks transitioned to finger-pointing at the media and Democrats.</p>
<p id="a9qhRI">“Political violence must never, ever be allowed in America, and I will do everything in my power to stop it,” Trump said a few minutes into his speech. He called for “terrorist actions” to be prosecuted and punished “to the full extent of the law” and congratulated law enforcement for their work.</p>
<p id="10pRNf">“Everyone will benefit if we can end the politics of personal destruction,” Trump said. “We must unify as a nation in peace, love, and harmony.” </p>
<p id="VTrrVh">He then pointed a finger at the media, who he said has a “major role to play as far as tone and as far as everything.” He decried “constant unfair coverage, deep hostility, and negative attacks” from the press. </p>
<p id="kMLLBd">“We have seen an effort by the media in recent hours to use the sinister actions of one individual to score political points against me and the Republican Party,” he said, eliciting boos and chants of “CNN sucks” from the audience. </p>
<p id="MHECKo">Sayoc, a 56-year-old Florida man, appears to have been an avid Trump supporter, and his <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18028880/cesar-sayoc-pipe-bomber-twitter-facebook-social-media">online activity</a> includes pro-Trump memes, conspiracy theories, and threats to some of the people to whom he eventually sent pipe bombs, including former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder.</p>
<p id="y8Vn0m">Trump, who has been trying to stoke fears about <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/24/18021042/trump-bomb-attempts-media-democrats">Democratic Party mobs</a>, then turned his attention to the other party. He said people don’t “blame the Democrat Party every time radical leftists seize and destroy public property and unleash violence and mayhem.” </p>
<p id="slDmnm">His attacks continued into Saturday, with Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1056175920476766208">tweeting</a> out a link to a Breitbart story about the rally and his defense of his supporters, who the media was “smearing.”</p>
<div id="JZDmcl">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump Thunders at Media for Smearing His Supporters after Bomb Scares <a href="https://t.co/Ggdhs9reY3">https://t.co/Ggdhs9reY3</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BreitbartNews</a></p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1056175920476766208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h2 id="BlXGOt">Trump doesn’t seem super worried about this whole unity thing</h2>
<p id="K0uaib">If Trump really is concerned about the pipe bombs and what they say about the state of political divisions in America, he’s not showing it. </p>
<p id="RAVCio">Friday’s rally was largely business as usual — he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/us/politics/trump-rally-charlotte-nc.html">talked about</a> “Crooked Hillary” and “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer,” referring to the Senate minority leader from New York. He brought up California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who also was sent a bomb, but then backed off. </p>
<p id="K7UgGo">“I’m going to be nice tonight, so I won’t say,” Trump said. He has previously called her “<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1011295779422695424">low IQ</a>.”</p>
<p id="SG7hrb">Most of the night was a typical Trump rally — he fired up the crowd by falsely claiming Democrats want open borders and pushing fears on immigration. He touted jobs numbers, complained about NATO, and made <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/10/17959968/trump-usa-today-op-ed-medicare-health-care">misleading statements on health care</a>. He talked about “fake news.” </p>
<p id="bFsq6q">Trump seemed aware that his conduct was under scrutiny, emphasizing that he was going to be “nice” in his remarks. It’s a situation he’s been in all week: knowing what a president is <em>supposed </em>to do in these situations, and not being able to help himself in doing otherwise. </p>
<p id="BA6NaA"><a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/26/18029958/trump-pipe-bomb-cesar-soyac-obama-clinton-cnn">Vox’s Alex Ward</a> explained the conundrum: </p>
<blockquote>
<p id="sjnyH0">The entire bombing saga is a national security crisis, and once again, Trump is failing in his duty to lead the country through it. The president’s conduct provides no comfort that he could actually calm the country’s fears during an even worse event.</p>
<p id="dtvvbt">Instead, Trump just took a big fan and stoked the fire even further.</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="4xedVY">While speaking to reporters ahead of the rally on Friday, Trump said he took no blame for his rhetoric. “There is no blame,” he said. “There is no anything.”</p>
<p id="d1ZHl4">He added that Republicans need to recapture their “momentum” after the bomb incidents and indicated that, if anything, he thinks he should go harder. “I think I’ve been toned down,” he said. “I could really tone it up.”</p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/27/18031866/cesar-sayoc-trump-rally-cnnEmily Stewart2018-10-26T17:39:15-04:002018-10-26T17:39:15-04:00A suspect has been arrested in the pipe bombs case: what we know
<figure>
<img alt="The van connected to the pipe bomb suspect." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Bp32WaHVt9hkMZ6xtRnpRsa2EUI=/378x0:2623x1684/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61919997/AP_18299555898226.1540567870.jpg" />
<figcaption>This frame grab from video provided by WPLG-TV shows a van parked in Plantation, Florida, on October 26, 2018, that federal agents and police officers have been examining in connection with package bombs that were sent to high-profile critics of President Donald Trump. | AP</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr. of Florida could face up to 48 years in prison for mailing at least 13 package bombs to Trump critics. </p> <p id="SqUYyW">Federal authorities <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeScarcella/status/1055895239314104322">have charged</a> a suspect with sending pipe bombs to 13 prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump: Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., a 56-year-old Florida man.</p>
<p id="7tNo0U">Sayoc’s fingerprint was found on an envelope containing one of the bombs, and the investigation also found “a possible DNA connection,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference Friday afternoon. Wray and other federal officials gave no indication that there might be other suspects or accomplices in the case.</p>
<p id="U0FEYT">Sayoc was arrested in Florida on Friday morning, after a week of suspicious packages containing homemade explosive devices put the nation edge. He’s been charged with five federal crimes, and faces up to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/26/18029380/cesar-sayoc-pipe-bomb-charges-full-text">48 years in prison</a>, if convicted.</p>
<p id="MytnEm">No one was injured by the devices that Sayoc mailed to current and former officials, including President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But FBI Director Christopher Wray was adamant that the threat was real. </p>
<p id="vdvepk">“Though we’re still analyzing the devices in our laboratory, these are not hoax devices,” Wray said, describing the bombs as consisting of PVC pipe, a small clock, a battery, wiring and potential explosive material.</p>
<p id="cbUN6Q">Federal officials would not comment directly on the suspect’s motive, and whether he was inspired by political animus toward his targets. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions noted that he “appears to be a partisan.” Social media accounts <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18027244/cesar-sayoc-arrest-bomb">that apparently belong to Sayoc</a> contained graphic images and threats directed at some of the bombing targets, including former attorney general Eric Holder and former Vice President Joe Biden.</p>
<p id="sIgoNp">Sayoc has been apprehended, but in many ways the investigation into his attempted attack is just beginning to unfold. Here’s what we know so far. </p>
<h3 id="sXVCj4">Who is Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr.?</h3>
<ul>
<li id="DYJvo0">Sayoc is from Aventura, Florida, just north of Miami.</li>
<li id="QDn2Pn">He has an extensive criminal history, including an arrest for a past bomb threat in 2002, according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/10/26/suspected-explosive-devices-addressed-cory-booker-james-clapper-probe-expands-packages/?utm_term=.9f9111c4278f">Washington Post</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/us/cesar-sayoc-bombing-suspect-arrested.html?module=inline">New York Times</a>.</li>
<li id="j1YhCF">Sayoc <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18028880/cesar-sayoc-pipe-bomber-twitter-facebook-social-media">apparently had tweeted threats to at least two bomb recipients</a>, as well as pro-Trump memes and conspiracy theories. He’d also tweeted attacks at Republicans who opposed Trump.</li>
<li id="mYSziw">Sayoc’s voter registration in Florida lists him as a Republican, according to state records. He registered in March 2016.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="C6JzEz">Where the investigation stands</h3>
<ul>
<li id="RDEDy3">FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference Thursday that investigators were able to narrow in on Sayoc thanks to “a latent fingerprint from one of the envelopes containing an IED [improvised explosive device]” that had been sent to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). </li>
<li id="TEBnCz">Federal authorities also seized a white van with decals on the windows, according to CNN and the <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-bombs-opalocka-mail-20181025-story.html">South Florida Sun-Sentinel</a>. Some of the decals, which included pro-Trump and anti-Democrat memes, matched tweets sent from social media accounts apparently belonging to Sayoc. </li>
<li id="FHeXi3">Officials would not comment on Sayoc’s motives, although Sessions noted that he “appears to be a partisan, but that will be determined by the facts as the case goes forward.”</li>
<li id="nEqOuM">He has been charged with five federal crimes: interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of explosives, threats against former presidents and certain other persons, threatening interstate communications, and assaulting current and former federal officers. </li>
</ul>
<div id="tctg0C">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="es" dir="ltr">COMPLAINT: US v. Cesar Altieri Sayoc <a href="https://t.co/6wyMWZiVLl">https://t.co/6wyMWZiVLl</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZUuACO7pJV">pic.twitter.com/ZUuACO7pJV</a></p>— Mike Scarcella (@MikeScarcella) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeScarcella/status/1055895239314104322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<ul><li id="SeCohM">Officials warned that it might still be possible for other suspicious packages to turn up. Wray confirmed that 13 packages containing bombs have been recovered, including at least three discovered Friday: one addressed to New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker; one addressed to CNN’s offices in New York, but intended for former director of national intelligence James Clapper; and another sent to California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris. </li></ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AP8mBg1neyHz0b6E_R7q0JnKLho=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13340943/explosives_maps_update_3.jpg">
</figure>
<ul>
<li id="4hWy1a">Federal prosecutors in the Manhattan will handle the case, and Sayoc could face up to 48 years in prison</li>
<li id="43H8Ji">President Donald Trump addressed the arrest and the ongoing investigation at an event in Washington, DC, on Friday, saying, “We have carried out a far-reaching federal state and local investigation trying to find the person or persons responsible for these events. … The events are despicable and have no place in our country. No place.”</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="qDVdt6">What we don’t know</h3>
<ul>
<li id="89a6tx">A full accounting of the suspect’s motives</li>
<li id="uUzVqw">Why the bombs didn’t go off </li>
<li id="YN8AtD">Whether the suspect is cooperating with authorities </li>
<li id="SAoksX">If there are more packages or additional charges</li>
</ul>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18027244/cesar-sayoc-arrest-pipe-bomb-mail-suspectJen Kirby2018-10-26T17:10:10-04:002018-10-26T17:10:10-04:00The pipe bomb suspect made vitriolic, threatening posts against Democrats on social media
<figure>
<img alt="The van connected to the pipe bomb suspect." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/F02w7JO5RX70d_ISM3pX4iTNRrA=/133x0:2378x1684/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61924077/AP_18299555898226.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The van connected to the pipe bomb suspect. | Associated Press</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here are seven takeaways from the pipe bomb suspect’s social media accounts.</p> <p id="ObdLZW"><em><strong>Update:</strong></em><em> Pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc’s apparent Twitter accounts were banned after he was arrested, so the tweets in this article can no longer load.</em></p>
<p id="v5geSU">On Friday, police <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18027244/cesar-sayoc-arrest-bomb">arrested</a> Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Florida in connection to the pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats around the country. </p>
<p id="vatWmu">Social media accounts apparently belonging to Sayoc seemed to have tweeted threatening words and images at some of those Democrats — including former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder — in the past. </p>
<p id="gpwGO6">We can’t confirm with 100 percent certainty that Sayoc is connected to the accounts. But they have a history going back well before his name was publicly released, and several of the social media posts contain images that are also on the van that police took into custody in connection to the pipe bomb mailings.</p>
<p id="HPk3JR"><a href="https://twitter.com/hardrockintlent/status/1042700436472561664">One tweet</a> directed at Biden and Holder stated, “We will meet your threats right to your face soon.” </p>
<p id="d8UTew"><a href="https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1055883229906001921">Another</a> to Biden said, “Hug your loved son,Niece,wife family real close everytime U walk out your home” — with an aerial view of Biden’s home with a target superimposed on it. The same day, the account tweeted several menacing images at Biden, including one of a sheep being beheaded and another of severed legs. </p>
<p id="b0HG04">“See U soon tick tock 4,” said one <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrock2016/status/1047414780263366656">tweet</a> to Holder.</p>
<p id="gUsTm6">“Kerry shut criminal mouth before you vanish with all BS crap,” read a <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrockintlent/status/1046880153874444289">tweet</a> in response to a story about former Secretary of State John Kerry.</p>
<p id="IYM7ca">His accounts have been banned following his arrest.</p>
<p id="r4cz50">The social media posts make it <em>very</em> clear that Sayoc, if these are his social media accounts, is a big supporter of President Donald Trump, even attending rallies for the president. And he is a huge critic of Democratic politicians and supporters — including several who were targeted by the pipe bomb mailings. </p>
<p id="GdkjfL">Here are seven things we can pull from the social media posts.</p>
<h3 id="U6KLd7">1) Sayoc made vitriolic and threatening posts about Democrats</h3>
<p id="TJlXkj">Sayoc dedicated <em>a lot</em> of posts to criticizing and threatening Democrats, including several of the people — such as the Obamas, the Clintons, Holder, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) — who were mailed pipe bombs.</p>
<div id="PRBWyt">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Go Trump Trump Trump hey Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. And Eric Himpton Holder Sr. Stick your BS all crap you talk where sun doesn't shine . We will meet your threats right to your face soon.Not option we will see you soon .Hug loved ones real close we aren't ones. <a href="https://t.co/eidRsSgJRv">pic.twitter.com/eidRsSgJRv</a></p>— Julus Cesar Milan (@hardrockintlent) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrockintlent/status/1042700436472561664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div id="8RaN4B">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Piece slime trash.Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.U like make threats run mouth wannabe tough guy.We Unconquered Seminole Tribe going answer your threats.We have Air boat tour of our Swamp,Everglades4 U.Hug your loved son,Niece,wife family real close everytime U walk out your home <a href="https://t.co/mBV5KONrlM">pic.twitter.com/mBV5KONrlM</a></p>— Cesar Altieri (@hardrock2016) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrock2016/status/1042170216304857088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h3 id="kpB0Aw">2) Sayoc perpetuated conspiracy theories about liberal billionaire George Soros</h3>
<p id="vNBBo1">Sayoc often posted criticisms and conspiracy theories aimed at <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17405784/george-soros-not-a-nazi-trump">George Soros</a>, a billionaire who regularly backs liberal policies and candidates for office. Soros is a common target of the right, even though many of the claims about him are exaggerated or outright false.</p>
<h3 id="lUJHY0">3) Sayoc is a big supporter of President Donald Trump</h3>
<p id="lpERLI">Based on several of the postings, Sayoc is a longtime supporter of Trump — attending Trump rallies, wishing Trump a happy birthday, and criticizing media organizations that Trump also criticized.</p>
<div id="XXrOA3">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy Birthday the. Greatest results disruptor n Chief President ever Trump Trump Trump.We Unconquered Seminole,Miccouskee Tribes,Seminole Hard Rock Worldwide millions of our customers,Seminole American Top Team,Warrior Boxing, say thank you and appreciation. <a href="https://t.co/oyiGPOkTBe">pic.twitter.com/oyiGPOkTBe</a></p>— Cesar Altieri (@hardrock2016) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrock2016/status/1004594611585552386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div id="IJWpRb">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy Birthday tge greatest President Ever Trump Trump Trump <a href="https://t.co/VoXvQMGApi">pic.twitter.com/VoXvQMGApi</a></p>— Cesar Altieri (@hardrock2016) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrock2016/status/1004592444321779713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div id="3hpLpd">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">7th day,it is day of thanks to God,Great Spirit delivery Greatest President ever ever Donald <a href="https://t.co/ylM4S29NvS">https://t.co/ylM4S29NvS</a> Mia Bch,Fla St Lawrence <a href="https://t.co/ZmNia0Lzlr">pic.twitter.com/ZmNia0Lzlr</a></p>— Cesar Altieri (@hardrock2016) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrock2016/status/866353299410362371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2017</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div id="kb7fH3">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">CNN Sucks <a href="https://t.co/mUjmiN35Hu">pic.twitter.com/mUjmiN35Hu</a></p>— Julus Cesar Milan (@hardrockintlent) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrockintlent/status/1035436399107956736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h3 id="ZVG2Rc">4) He is also a big supporter of Florida Republicans</h3>
<p id="GE1Vdm">Sayoc strongly supported the campaigns of Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate for Florida governor, and Rick Scott, the current governor and Republican candidate for the Senate.</p>
<div id="9WGMs1">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unconquered Seminole Miccouskee Tribes,Seminole Hard Rock,Millions of our customers,Seminole American Top Team MMA,Warrior Boxing,Ron DeSantis For Fla Governor.He defended all Americans Navy,He fights everyday Fla Rep.Congress.Low Taxes,Less Regulations,Booming economy for Fla. <a href="https://t.co/Xkwlv2etZ5">pic.twitter.com/Xkwlv2etZ5</a></p>— Cesar Altieri (@hardrock2016) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrock2016/status/1017264799472914432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<h3 id="gX41v8">5) Sayoc insulted Republicans who criticized Trump</h3>
<p id="xs7EGL">Sayoc went after Republicans who criticized Trump, particularly Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and those who worked on immigration reform.</p>
<h3 id="f24gzn">6) Sayoc is a big supporter of all sorts of conspiracy theories</h3>
<p id="Fz9I9L">From chemtrails to <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/24/18010592/future-perfect-podcast-lithium-drinking-water-suicide">lithium</a> to suggesting the Parkland, Florida, shooting was a hoax, Sayoc is a big supporter of totally unfounded conspiracy theories.</p>
<h3 id="0igCls">7) Sayoc identifies as Native American </h3>
<p id="SNv62L">Sayoc regularly tied his politics and beliefs to his Native American identity, frequently citing the “Unconquered Seminole Tribe.” But Seminole Tribe spokesperson Gary Bitner <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1055877042145771521">said</a>, “There’s no record of him being a member of the Tribe. He’s not a member of the Seminole Tribe, has never been a member of the Seminole Tribe.“</p>
<div id="15aLQl">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Go Trump We Unconquered Seminole Tribe stand with u on our land not theirs.Close boarder period these democrat liberal left slime party over over over over <a href="https://t.co/ba5zFa7fnV">pic.twitter.com/ba5zFa7fnV</a></p>— Julus Cesar Milan (@hardrockintlent) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrockintlent/status/1053948537950625792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<div id="Ol8OAB">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Go Tiger Greatness Class Act you are no one does it better.Fromall us here Unconquered Seminole Hard Rock Worldwide .Tiger Tiger Tiger <a href="https://t.co/DcPFtrrB9O">pic.twitter.com/DcPFtrrB9O</a></p>— Julus Cesar Milan (@hardrockintlent) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardrockintlent/status/1044119957737525248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18028880/cesar-sayoc-pipe-bomber-twitter-facebook-social-mediaGerman Lopez2018-10-26T16:05:02-04:002018-10-26T16:05:02-04:00FBI director says the bombs sent to prominent Trump critics were “not hoax devices”
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n0ylwxpNUrXV7sPDut141hPbgps=/0x0:3293x2470/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61925119/GettyImages_1053980114.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Though we’re still analyzing these devices in our laboratory, these were not hoax devices.”</p> <p id="FOnj76">During a press conference Friday announcing the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18028880/cesar-sayoc-pipe-bomber-twitter-facebook-social-media">arrest of alleged mail bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr</a>., FBI Director Christopher Wray made it clear that the devices sent to Democratic figures, billionaire philanthropist George Soros, and prominent critics of President Donald Trump were “not hoax devices” —<strong> </strong>a comment that should put to rest a simmering right-wing theory about the bomber’s motivations. </p>
<p id="bRqphT">Wrap said that the devices contained “energetic material” that could have potentially exploded if exposed to heat, shock, or friction. “Though we’re still analyzing these devices in our laboratory, these were not hoax devices.”</p>
<div id="xHDHas">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"These are not hoax devices," FBI Director Christopher Wray said after announcing that 13 improvised explosive devices were sent to individuals around the country <a href="https://t.co/acrCVdqa3i">https://t.co/acrCVdqa3i</a> <a href="https://t.co/CiNSCzlpXC">pic.twitter.com/CiNSCzlpXC</a></p>— CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1055909327180124160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="ykvgZ4">Wray’s remarks come in the wake of a number of high-profile figures on the right claiming that the devices were a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18018606/false-flags-clinton-soros-alex-jones-infowars-cnn">“false flag”</a> from the left intended to cast blame on the right, with some calling them an all-out hoax. </p>
<p id="TVaau3">Those arguing the devices were a hoax included conservative pundits Dinesh D’Souza and Kurt Schlichter and Turning Point USA’s Candace Owens, who <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1055638113983303680/video/1">met</a> with Trump at an event Friday for black conservatives. </p>
<div id="UF3WNd">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's my bet...<br><br>No one will be arrested for these alleged mail bombs.<br><br>After dozens of college campus hoaxes by leftists, I don't buy this super convenient turn of events.</p>— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) <a href="https://twitter.com/KurtSchlichter/status/1055101724195602433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="N17P8U"></p>
<div id="h9aB5K">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Headline should read: Search for Non-Bomb Suspect Intensifies <a href="https://twitter.com/WSJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WSJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/22Nelge4Z3">pic.twitter.com/22Nelge4Z3</a></p>— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/1055823527809597440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DCh5HsDfg92OUvoUWUTYTZ9IJQY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13340761/Screen_Shot_2018_10_26_at_3.24.33_PM.png">
<figcaption>From Candace Owens’s Twitter feed, October 24, 2018.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="Vc9IR3">Whether or not Wray’s comments will put the issue to rest isn’t clear yet. </p>
<p id="jtFc7E">Earlier on Friday, conservatives including radio host Rush Limbaugh were suggesting that the suspect’s van, which is covered in pro-Trump and anti-liberal memes, was part of a scam. </p>
<p id="ZQE3LQ">Other conservatives condemned those who argued that the bombings were a “leftist hoax,” with Tiana Lowe <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/there-is-no-vast-left-wing-conspiracy">writing</a> in the Washington Examiner:</p>
<blockquote><p id="fU6avP">While it’s obviously fine to withhold judgment on the attacks until law enforcement addresses more of the public’s questions, the rush from some on the Right to use a lack of facts to justify promulgating ridiculous conspiracy theories is both fallacious and irresponsible. Lies poison the well of truth, especially when the majority of Republicans in the White House and conservatives across the country have gone to such great lengths to condemn mob violence.</p></blockquote>
<p id="j05BEV"></p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18029462/fbi-bombs-clinton-soros-obama-hoax-not-mail-sessionsJane Coaston2018-10-26T11:37:19-04:002018-10-26T11:37:19-04:00“False flags,” explained
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xtL014rgzo_KO8KQss5cXWdAtkI=/500x0:4944x3333/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61906409/GettyImages_1052961632.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bomb threat seen at CNN’s New York City headquarters in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle in New York. | Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How the concept of “false flags” traveled from the conspiratorial fringe to cable news.</p> <p id="BmvSzs">After explosive devices were sent to prominent critics of President Donald Trump, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and former CIA Director John Brennan (via <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/24/18018574/cnn-bomb-threat-newsroom-evacuated">CNN’s New York headquarters</a>), many on the far right and even some people with close ties to the White House had a theory of the case: The bombing attempts on prominent liberals were ginned up by the left to help them win the midterms. </p>
<p id="WY53aP">On Friday, even President Trump appeared to hint at this argument, saying that in the midst of Republicans “doing so well” in early voting, “now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows” — with “bomb” in quotes. </p>
<div id="0eH5lw">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this “Bomb” stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1055826295337172993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="m8WuLN">Alex Jones’s conspiracy theory site Infowars, made its claim even clearer: The bombing attempts are a “false flag” — an attack committed under false pretenses used to drive public perception in a certain direction. Under this scenario, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/clintons-obama-suspicious-packages/h_b8d6139a0a87d3b9133f8226cf0e5bcf?utm_term=image&utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2018-10-25T15%3A38%3A16&utm_medium=social">some on the right argue</a>, the goal of the left is to “frame” conservatives for the mailings and drive Democrats to the polls in November. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KYR7xn2WoLG7pnvo9-I40YPCR7k=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13326065/Screen_Shot_2018_10_24_at_11.58.26_AM.png">
<figcaption>From Infowars, October 22, 2018.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="yB4Oh6">On Friday, authorities announced that a man in Florida had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/nyregion/cnn-cory-booker-pipe-bombs-sent.html">arrested</a> in connection with the attempted bombings, but we know very little about the bomber or bombers and their motives at this point. </p>
<p id="m0NxHA">Maybe it’ll turn out that the motivations were a form of political jiujitsu, or a false flag. Or maybe the motives will turn out to be something completely off the wall, not tethered to political polarization at all. We just don’t know. </p>
<p id="cpx0np">But some on the right dove into the “false flag” narrative immediately anyway, without any basis for their claim. And this is not the first time the “false flag” narrative has emerged in response to a tragedy or a scare — from mass shootings at elementary schools to the attacks of 9/11. Some people have reacted to events that don’t make sense by trying to argue it didn’t happen the way we’re being told, or maybe didn’t even happen at all. </p>
<p id="NVGxaN">Liberals have baselessly claimed false flags too. In 2016, for example, a Black Lives Matter activist <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/blm-leader-suggests-dallas-a-false-flag">argued</a> that the shootings of police officers in Dallas that resulted in five deaths could have been a false flag, saying, “From my experience, whenever public opinion shifts to strongly support the movement, an act of violence against the police happens.”</p>
<p id="fWkvoP">Conspiracy theories like “false flags” appeal to people along the political spectrum. According to a survey conducted in 2014 and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/08/21/conspiracy-theories-arent-just-for-conservatives/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.aef94fc310a1">reported</a> by the Washington Post, Republicans and Democrats responded equally when asked if they agreed with four statements like, “Much of our lives are being controlled by plots hatched in secret places.” </p>
<p id="YfF1BG">And in the current political environment, it seems that conspiracy theories are going mainstream. Ideas that used to remain confined to pamphlets or small networks leap from the dark corners of the internet into lines in speeches and tweets from the president himself, who has long trumpeted conspiracy theories. </p>
<p id="vNOxKr">“Social media has given us the power to spread nonsense further and faster than ever before,” said Becket Adams, a commentary writer at the Washington Examiner who has written extensively on conspiracy theories, told me in an interview. “A solidly insane conspiracy tweetstorm or YouTube video can reach more people now than any newsletter or pamphlet from the 1850s or 1960s ever could.”</p>
<p id="WyDdMk">The result is that a large swath of the public rejects the working set of facts necessary to truly engage in honest political debates. They prefer, instead, to reject information that might challenge their preexisting ideas — a dangerous position in a moment when many people, our president included, are already committed to “alternative facts.” </p>
<h3 id="Fyj1KL">What is a “false flag”?</h3>
<p id="cNumbs">The term “false flag” is an old political concept, referring to an operation or attack that is essentially fake, staged by a group that wants a reason to retaliate against the person or people they’ll accuse of the attack.</p>
<p id="ePRSUA">For example, the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 <a href="https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865610146/This-week-in-history-Nazis-stage-fake-attack-at-the-start-of-WWII.html">began with a “false flag” attack on a German radio transmission tower</a> that made it appear as if Polish forces were responsible, thus giving Adolf Hitler carte blanche to launch the invasion. (The “flag” part of “false flag” refers to the practice of pirate ships flying “false flags” to fool ships they were attempting to raid.) </p>
<p id="TTiNYW">And in the early 1960s, the US government contemplated using a “false flag” attack to provoke Americans into supporting a war with communist Cuba. The plan, <a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//news/20010430/index.html">Operation Northwoods</a>, included potentially blowing up a US ship in Cuban waters and then blaming the Cuban government, with one military official <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92662&page=1">writing</a>, “casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation.”</p>
<p id="57NzHa">So “false flag” attacks have happened, but not often. In the world of conspiracy theorists, though, “false flags” are seemingly everywhere. They’re relied on to explain away events that seem too big or too terrible to be real — and moreover, “false flags” help people who can’t imagine that someone who shares their political, cultural, or religious worldview would do something so wrong. </p>
<p id="YPo93t">In 1944, a member of the antiwar America First movement argued in a <a href="http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v11/v11p431_Lutton.html">pamphlet</a> that the attacks on Pearl Harbor that launched the United States into a war with Japan was a “false flag” of sorts, saying that the United States let the attack happen so that the American people would support a war. (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/12/06/504449867/no-fdr-did-not-know-the-japanese-were-going-to-bomb-pearl-harbor">Some people still believe this</a>, and no, it’s not true.)</p>
<p id="VBOMWa">Conspiracy theories involving the government gained wider sway after the Vietnam War. “Several American generations experienced firsthand the fact that the federal government is extremely capable of lying and engaging in far-reaching cover-ups,” Adams said. </p>
<p id="Lupnyh">But it was the rise of the internet in the 1990s that spread the idea of “false flags” from pamphlets and magazines aimed at fringe groups to the broader world, and one conspiracy theorist in particular who popularized them: Alex Jones.</p>
<h3 id="WuXAks">Alex Jones and “false flags” </h3>
<p id="EB7XKi">In the 1990s, as the internet started taking conspiracy theories mainstream, Alex Jones, the founder of Infowars, was a feature on local access TV news in Austin, where he presented anti-government and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/meet-alex-jones-175845/">anti-“New World Order” conspiracy theories</a> to a small audience. </p>
<p id="tyudrc">The Oklahoma City bombings of 1995 — where Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols orchestrated a domestic terror attack on a federal building that ultimately killed at least 168 people — sparked Jones’s interest in “false flags.”</p>
<p id="SteZYt">To be clear, McVeigh, who visited Waco, Texas, during the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10714746/waco-ruby-ridge-oregon">infamous siege</a> at a cult compound in 1993 that resulted in a fire that killed more than 80 people, was radicalized by what he viewed as tyrannical government action taken at Waco, writing to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) before the Oklahoma City bombing, “all you tyrannical people will <a href="http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,8088,00.html">swing in the wind one day</a> for your treasonous actions.” </p>
<p id="AIQjS5">But Jones was convinced that a cover-up was afoot. He started <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/6/17655658/alex-jones-facebook-youtube-conspiracy-theories">espousing</a> his belief that the government was involved in the attack (“I understood there’s a kleptocracy working with psychopathic governments — clutches of evil that know the tricks of control”). Then he started saying the Oklahoma City bombing was a “false flag” that was actually committed by the government to frame the right and help Bill Clinton win the 1996 presidential election. </p>
<p id="fCvU74"><strong>“</strong>They set it up to make it look like — ‘Oh, the feds got hit back’ — because Waco hurt them so bad it was going to lose them the election,” he said in April 2018 to the <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20180416/a-quarter-century-later-dark-theories-still-hover-over-waco-siege">Austin American-Statesman’s</a> Jonathan Tilove. “It is a false flag. One hundred percent.” </p>
<p id="yohVsu">Since 1995, the conspiracy theorizing has continued from Jones. He has promulgated the idea that the 9/11 attacks were a “false flag” <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2018/08/10/people-listen-alex-jones-asked">organized</a> by the Bush administration in order to popularize a war in the Middle East, and that the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013 were a <a href="https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2018/05/30/roseanne-barr-once-said-boston-marathon-bombings-were-a-false-flag">“false flag” </a>event aimed at expanding government intrusion.</p>
<p id="qaasaR">In fact, Infowars <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/19/nation/la-na-tt-alex-jones-20130418">sent</a> one of its personalities, Dan Bidondi, to a press briefing with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick held just hours after the Boston<strong> </strong>bombings to ask if the bombings were a “staged attack to take our civil liberties and promote homeland security while sticking their hands down our pants on the streets.” (The governor answered, “No.”) </p>
<p id="4zu91W">More recently, Jones has argued again and again that mass shooting incidents — like the murder of 20 children and six adults at <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/12/14/10124474/sandy-hook-shooting-victims">Sandy Hook Elementary School</a> in 2012 or the <a href="http://fortune.com/2018/02/24/youtube-pulls-alex-jones-infowars-video/">shootings</a> at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this year — were “false flag” efforts committed by the US government in order to push gun control measures forward. </p>
<p id="oPP1vK">In 2015, Jones <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/02/sandy-hook-school-hoax-massacre-conspiracists-victim-father">said</a>, “Sandy Hook is synthetic, completely fake, with actors; in my view, manufactured. I couldn’t believe it at first. I knew they had actors there, clearly, but I thought they killed some real kids, and it just shows how bold they are, that they clearly used actors.” (This is, of course, is not true — and families of the victims of Sandy Hook have since <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/business/media/alex-jones-sandy-hook.html">sued Jones for defamation</a>.)</p>
<h3 id="YlfQwE">The psychology of “false flags”</h3>
<p id="QSANOc">To Jones, and to people who think like him, a “false flag” is a way to make sense of events that don’t make sense, or worse, might contradict his fervently held political beliefs. To Jones, it’s inconceivable that an American veteran like Timothy McVeigh could have been behind the murder of 168 people — so the Oklahoma City bombing was a “false flag.” </p>
<p id="TcLZBS">Little children couldn’t have been murdered with the same weapons many Americans own and enjoy using — so the Sandy Hook shooting was a “false flag.” </p>
<p id="9n64sO">And no right-thinking conservative would send Democratic figures bombs in the mail because they were enraged by anti-Trump Democrats — so it’s a “false flag.” </p>
<p id="aUUYnC">Like <a href="https://www.vox.com/today-explained/2018/3/19/17140050/alex-jones-charlottesville-las-vegas-defamation-lawsuit-today-explained-podcast">conspiracy theories themselves</a>, the “false flag” idea offers a buttress against being forced to recognize that sometimes bad people do bad things, and occasionally, those bad people might share your political, social, or cultural viewpoints. </p>
<h3 id="j9m4bE">The role of social media — and Trump — in conspiracy theories</h3>
<p id="eRI47z">Traditionally, a false flag would be staged by the government, but to Jones, an avid Trump supporter, the pool of suspects who have faked attacks has widened. A “false flag” can mean simply “someone staged this incident to make someone else look bad” — and that’s the very argument some on the far right are making about the mail bombing attempts this week. </p>
<p id="MLbCpZ">“The language has shifted, like how ‘fake news’ has lost its meaning,” said Charlie Warzel, a senior technology writer for BuzzFeed News who has written extensively about conspiracy theories on the internet. “It used to mean misinformation and an organized group of people putting something forward — now, it just means something you don’t agree with.”</p>
<p id="T9njLL">A similar thing has happened to “false flag,” he said: “‘False flag’ has lost the ‘government’ meaning, and now it just means ‘you’re being duped.’ It’s a stand-in for ‘something smells fishy.’” </p>
<p id="QGoBBL">So combine an existing conspiratorial mindset with pipe bombs <a href="https://nyti.ms/2JeDr6Y?smid=nytcore-ios-share">being sent to prominent critics of the Trump administration</a>, Democrats, and a left-leaning billionaire philanthropist, and you have what we’re seeing this week: “false flag” accusations running rampant. </p>
<p id="akdDD0">So how did the “false flag” idea get big enough online that mainstream right-wing figures are tweeting about it? </p>
<p id="24Chu4">Jones and Infowars bear much of the responsibility for this, said Warzel. “I really think that they’ve rewired the way the far right talks,” he told me. “They’ve bullied their way into the normal discourse. This is why you’re saying every far-right commentator suggesting that [the mailing of bombs to Democratic figures] is a hoax ... or a false flag.” </p>
<p id="Iftua3">The research bears this out. In 2017, University of Washington professor Kate Starbird found that social media — and websites like Infowars and others — have been powerful vectors for conspiracy theories, and specifically for terms like “false flag” that appeal to people of many political backgrounds. </p>
<p id="nuL3aZ">When she noticed that after both the Boston Marathon bombing and a mass shooting at a community college in Oregon, social media traffic showed a big rise in “false flag” tweets (like arguments that the Navy SEALS were behind the bombing), Starbird started researching how conspiracy theorists talk to one another, and the websites and social media platforms they use. </p>
<p id="ypzraj">In her <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/kstarbi/Alt_Narratives_ICWSM17-CameraReady.pdf">paper</a> on the “Alternative Media Ecosystem,” she not only <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/uw-professor-the-information-war-is-real-and-were-losing-it/">showed</a> how popular conspiracy theory websites really are but argued that conspiracy theories — like “false flags” — don’t operate on a liberal-versus-conservative axis; they focus more on “anti-globalism,” a space “where U.S. Alt-Right sites look similar to U.S. Alt-Left sites.” </p>
<p id="HCETsW">An example of an alt-left site, in her research, would be <a href="http://veteranstoday.com">VeteransToday.com</a>, which <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/117600596/323-Israeli-Death-Squads-Involved-in-Sandy-Hook-Bloodbath">argued</a> on the site and elsewhere that Israeli “death squads” had been present at Sandy Hook in 2012. The true common denominator, she found, is anti-globalism — deep suspicion of free trade, multinational business and global institutions. “To be antiglobalist often included being anti-mainstream media, anti-immigration, anti-science, anti-US government, and anti-European Union,” Starbird says.</p>
<p id="wKuv7R">The flattening of mainstream media means that outlets like the Chicago Tribune are now competing with websites like Infowars (in fact, the two have had <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/uw-professor-the-information-war-is-real-and-were-losing-it/">similar traffic numbers</a> as recently as last year). Conspiracy theorist websites like Infowars and others have large platforms, including YouTube channels that put “false flag” conspiracy theories in search results for random topics. That puts more “false flags” and conspiracy theories into the web browsers — and thus, the minds — of everyday people just trying to find out what is going on in the world.</p>
<p id="CkvaMx">The Trump administration has accelerated these trends. Trump <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories-2016-5#questions-about-ted-cruzs-fathers-potential-ties-to-president-john-f-kennedys-assassin-1">embraced conspiracy theories</a> while on the campaign trail (like that Ted Cruz’s father helped kill John F. Kennedy), and was a leading proponent of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/9/16/12938066/donald-trump-obama-birth-certificate-birther">birtherism</a>. Not to mention he <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1026509633924554753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1026509633924554753&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2018%2F8%2F6%2F17655658%2Falex-jones-facebook-youtube-conspiracy-theories">appeared</a> on Infowars during the presidential campaign, telling Jones his “reputation was amazing” and “I will not let you down.” </p>
<p id="Rugjce">In its near-constant combat with mainstream media outlets, the administration has regularly encouraged supporters of the president to look to “alternative facts,” as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/22/kellyanne-conway-says-donald-trumps-team-has-alternate-facts-which-pretty-much-says-it-all/">Kellyanne Conway put it </a>in January 2017, that will be more supportive of his message.</p>
<p id="hOPfmm">So it might not be surprising that in the wake of bombs apparently sent to the president’s enemies, some of Trump’s biggest supporters are turning to one of the most durable “alternative facts” at all: the idea of a “false flag.”</p>
<div id="9Af5ip">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump backers who have suggested the bombs are a liberal hoax:<br><br>Ann Coulter<br>Rush Limbaugh<br>Michael Savage<br>James Woods<br>Mike Flynn Jr.<br>Frank Gaffney<br>Kurt Schlichter<br>Candace Owens<br>David Horowitz<br>John Cardillo<br>Laura Loomer<br>Jacob Wohl<br>Chadwick Moore<br>John Lott</p>— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonswaine/status/1055175217641865216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="4M2b4F">The “false flag” conspiracy theories are an effort to make sense out of a world that often doesn’t make sense. Moreover, it’s about proving to yourself that no one who shares your views could possibly do something wrong. And with the help of big-time conspiracy theorists and the power of social media, the “false flag” concept isn’t going anywhere.</p>
<p id="O1fWBM"></p>
<p id="6RmPNg"></p>
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18018606/false-flags-clinton-soros-alex-jones-infowars-cnnJane Coaston2018-10-26T11:20:01-04:002018-10-26T11:20:01-04:00Trump blames “‘Bomb’ stuff” for distracting from his midterm message
<figure>
<img alt="12th Suspicious Package Intercepted At NYC Post Office Addressed To James Clapper And CNN" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GzE61Y0mQFQAzDAQZja_15Axo28=/680x0:6123x4082/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61919795/1053792390.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Law enforcement officials respond to a suspicious package at a US Post Office facility at 52nd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan, October 26, 2018, in New York City | Drew Angerer/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“The momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics.”</p> <p id="OUpTpx">As <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18022894/clinton-obama-cnn-pipe-bombs-investigation-trump">the total number of suspicious packages</a> sent to Democrats and other Trump critics ticked up to 12 on Friday, President Donald Trump had a new message: The pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats, including two former presidents, were a distraction from his midterms message. </p>
<p id="9Ff1lm">“Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics,”<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1055826295337172993"> Trump tweeted</a>. “Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!”</p>
<div id="eShgzt">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this “Bomb” stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1055826295337172993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="6PF1Vr">On Wednesday, Trump urged unity and condemned “acts of political violence.” But he quickly abandoned that message to focus on the media. Now he’s implying that what’s “unfortunate” about the bomb attacks is that the “news [is] not talking politics” as the midterms approach.</p>
<p id="3a2ac0">These are also Trump’s first remarks after <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18022894/clinton-obama-cnn-pipe-bombs-investigation-trump">two more packages were uncovered</a> bound for former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper at CNN’s offices and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ); he spent the rest of the morning tweeting about <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1055820292881350656">immigration</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1055822810940129283">his loss of Twitter followers</a>.</p>
<p id="OzdRy5">Trump dismissively referred to suspected explosive devices sent to 12 locations as “‘Bomb’ stuff,” appearing to nod to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18018606/false-flags-clinton-soros-alex-jones-infowars-cnn">“false flag”</a> conspiracy theories that have taken off in right-wing circles on the internet, from radio host Rush Limbaugh to Alex Jones’s Infowars. These pundits are claiming the pipe bombs are essentially a Democratic plot to “frame” Trump and his base ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, and help drive liberal voters to the polls. </p>
<p id="L1dJcj">Trump’s framing of a national security issue as partisan follows a familiar pattern. After events of national significance, such as the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/11/17678642/unite-the-right-2018-trump-reaction">white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville</a>, Virginia, in 2017 or <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/01/politics/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-drinking/index.html">the recent Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings</a>, Trump sticks to the script and delivers measured remarks — before ultimately veering into attack mode. </p>
<p id="tMTKjJ">With these suspicious packages, Trump moved off his message of unity in less than 24 hours after the first round of bombs were detected, blaming the media for sowing division at a rally and then attacking “fake news” for fomenting anger and spreading “purposefully false” stories on Thursday. Friday morning, hours before another suspicious package was intercepted en route to CNN, Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1055719340832686080">blasted the network</a> for “blaming me for the current spate of Bombs.”</p>
<p id="znDPZj">Many of the people who were sent packages are not just critics of the president, but <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18022376/pipe-bomb-targets-packages-democrats-clinton-obama-soros-de-niro">frequent targets</a> at his rallies and on Twitter. CNN and others called out Trump’s incendiary rhetoric as possibly fueling this type of political violence, to which <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1055267555428966400">the White House responded</a> that Trump was trying to unite the country, but that CNN “chose to attack and divide.” </p>
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/26/18026926/pipe-bombs-trump-tweetJen Kirby2018-10-26T09:58:12-04:002018-10-26T09:58:12-04:00A list of everyone who’s been sent a pipe bomb so far — that we know of
<figure>
<img alt="2018 Carousel Of Hope Ball - Arrivals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l1IOWOmNuEQ_2DO40A20nu8mV-k=/100x0:3000x2175/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61906495/1046824568.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Robert De Niro is the latest public figure who we know was sent a suspicious package. | Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All the targets have been vocal critics of President Trump.</p> <p id="6kYDmt">Since Monday, the authorities have recovered 12 <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/24/18018256/explosive-device-bomb-clinton-obama-cnn-soros">“suspicious packages”</a> containing explosive devices meant for prominent American liberals.</p>
<p id="s1QUEd">A trail of pipe bombs on the East Coast — and in one occasion, the West Coast — have targeted former presidents, administration officials, an actor and a billionaire, all tied in some way to the Democratic Party — and all proven critics of President Donald Trump. </p>
<p id="FmXuuL">Here’s who’s received the bombs so far.</p>
<h3 id="FhfKGT">New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker</h3>
<p id="tnswbF">Booker is a rumored candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020 — he’s even about to head to New Hampshire for get-out-the-vote events this weekend. In recent weeks, <a href="https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/10/booker_becomes_regular_foil_in_trump_campaign_speeches.html">he’s also become a frequent target in Trump’s campaign rallies</a>, particularly after his opposition to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. </p>
<h3 id="yHPVtX">James Clapper, former director of National Intelligence</h3>
<p id="VRsdcf">Clapper, who served as Director of National Intelligence under President Obama and is a contributor to CNN, has been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics since he took office. He’s emphasized that Russia intervened in the 2016 election and become a hero of the anti-Trump resistance. </p>
<h3 id="c1Llip">George Soros</h3>
<p id="c68HRn">Soros, a billionaire whose Open Society Foundation is one of the nation’s largest philanthropies, has also donated generously to Democrats. He has long been the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17405784/george-soros-not-a-nazi-trump">target of right-leaning and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories</a>. Most recently, Trump accused Soros of paying women to pretend to be the victims of sexual assault and protest Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.</p>
<h3 id="MKw7hc">Former CIA director John Brennan</h3>
<p id="OwzcCt">Brennan’s package was never delivered to him, as it was addressed to the CNN studio in Manhattan. Brennan does not work for CNN, but he frequently joins NBC and MSNBC as an analyst.</p>
<p id="EoviKN">He doesn’t shy away from criticizing Trump: He told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell this August that Trump is “dangerous to our nation.” The White House later revoked Brennan’s security clearance.</p>
<h3 id="RdS2k5">Former Attorney General Eric Holder</h3>
<p id="du0PYW">Holder, whose bomb never reached him, hasn’t been as much of a target for Trump as other intended bomb recipients., but after Holder called for Democrats to “kick” Republicans in the midterms earlier this month, Trump called him a “lowlife” to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2018/10/11/trump-dishes-on-lowlife-eric-holder-hillary-and-the-2020-race/">New York Post</a>.</p>
<p id="0vdvZR">Under Obama, though, Holder was a frequent target of criticism by the Republican Party and right-wing media. This was in part due to the “Fast and Furious” scandal, which was covered extensively in right-wing media; it was also because Holder, a close personal friend of Obama, often made blunt comments about race and racism that the president himself could not. (<a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/1/28/7927257/republicans-holder-lynch">Vox’s Dara Lind wrote more about this in 2015</a>.)</p>
<h3 id="F6Sb7v">US Rep. Maxine Waters</h3>
<p id="GUu0ii">Waters, a 14-term House member who represents California’s 43rd Congressional District, has clashed frequently with Trump this year — most recently this summer when she <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/25/17501450/maxine-waters-trump-pelosi-civility-sarah-sanders">encouraged liberals to confront Republicans in public places</a>. She’s ended up as something of a national face of the Democratic Party, and also a frequent target for Trump, who routinely refers to her in rallies and has criticized her in tweetstorms as a “low IQ person.” </p>
<h3 id="n52c68">Robert De Niro</h3>
<p id="hegc30">De Niro has often been associated with the Democratic Party, supporting both Obama and Hillary Clinton during their candidacies. He’s also been a fierce Trump critic, calling him “blatantly stupid” during his presidential campaign. </p>
<p id="UxbaWa">At the 72nd Tony Awards held earlier this year, De Niro received a standing ovation when he once more denounced Trump. “I’m gonna say one thing. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNr8Pf1QkY">Fuck Trump</a>. It’s no longer ‘down with Trump.’ It’s ‘fuck Trump.’” The president then <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1006833565022031873">retaliated</a> on his Twitter feed, calling De Niro a “Low IQ individual” whom he believes to be “punch-drunk.”</p>
<h3 id="F0G2OA">Former Vice President Joe Biden</h3>
<p id="FUonnz">As the former two-term vice president and a frequently rumored 2020 presidential candidate, Biden is one of the nation’s highest-profile Democrats. This March, Biden condemned Trump over his previous <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/politics/joe-biden-donald-trump/index.html">crude remarks about women</a>, telling a crowd at the University of Miami: “They asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, ‘If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.” </p>
<p id="IvfxqS">In response to the event, Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/976765417908776963">tweeted</a>: “Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!”</p>
<h3 id="iE0LND">Barack and Michelle Obama</h3>
<p id="5md9WL">The explosive device sent to the Obamas early Wednesday was successfully intercepted by the Secret Service before it reached them. The former president has long been a target of right-wing radicals, often receiving criticism from the current administration, too, over his policies. </p>
<h3 id="SZnBgO">Bill and Hillary Clinton</h3>
<p id="LuryZX">The Clintons received a suspicious package at their home in upstate New York on Tuesday, which the Secret Service intercepted as well. The Clintons, like Soros, have long been the focus of right-wing conspiracy theories. While Hillary Clinton been relatively low-profile since the election, even now, when Trump mentions her name at rallies, his crowd of supporters <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-accuses-hillary-clinton-colluding-russia-crowd-chants-lock-her-n918836">starts to chant</a>, “Lock her up!”</p>
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/25/18022376/pipe-bomb-targets-packages-democrats-clinton-obama-soros-de-niroStavros Agorakis