A Florida man entered a guilty plea Thursday after being accused of subjecting multiple high-profile Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump to pipe bomb scares in 2018.
Cesar Sayoc previously had pleaded not guilty, reported NBC News.
“I know that these actions were wrong and I’m sorry,” Sayoc, 57, said as he entered his new plea in front of a federal judge in Manhattan.
Sayoc could spend the rest of his life in prison after allegedly making more than a dozen improvised explosive devices from PVC pipes packed with explosive material and shards of glass. He was accused of sending the devices to national figures, including former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The package scares occurred in October.
A federal grand jury charged Sayoc on a 30-count indictment in November. The charges include five counts of using a weapon of mass destruction, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, and five counts of interstate transportation of an explosive. Each of the latter counts could mean 20 years in prison.
Sayoc was living in a van “plastered with stickers praising Trump and attacking the media” when he was arrested in Florida, reported NBC News.
Besides Biden and Clinton, the intended recipients of the packages included:
- Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
- Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
- Former President Barack Obama.
- Former CIA Director John Brennan.
- Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros.
- Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
- Actor Robert De Niro.
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder.
- Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
- Billionaire activist Tom Steyer.
- CNN.
The office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz , D-Fla., also received a package because it was used as a return address.
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