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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 6 augusT 2019

Judge sentences man who sent pipe bombs to Dems to 20 years

mental illness, a childhood
sexual assault he suffered
from a boarding school
teacher, excessive use of
steroids and his failure to lis-
ten to his mother, “the love
of my life.”
“I was in deep denial. I un-
derstand now that I have
committed a very serious
crime,” Sayoc said.
“I wish more than anything
I could turn back time and
take back what I did,” he
added. “With all my heart
and soul, I feel the pain
and suffering of these vic-
tims and I will be apologiz-
ing to them for the rest of
my life.” The bomb experts,
one an FBI agent, and
one hired by the defense,
agreed Sayoc’s packages
were not configured to ex-
plode. As the judge noted,
the clocks were not set and
wires were not attached.
The psychiatric experts
who examined Sayoc at
the request of the defense
agreed that steroids influ-
enced his behavior, par-
ticularly his delusions and
In this courtroom sketch, Cesar Sayoc, second left, sits as his Attorney Ian H. Amelkin, right, speaks at federal court in New York on obsessions.
Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. In all, 16 rudimentary pipe
Associated Press bombs were mailed to ad-
By TOM HAYS and LARRY “He hated his victims, he grew to believe Democrats “time and again, we have dresses in New York, New
NEUMEISTER wished them no good, but were to blame for damage seen individuals attempt to Jersey, Delaware, Califor-
Associated Press he was not so lost as to wish to his van, which was plas- express political views and nia, Washington, D.C., and
NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida them dead, at least not by tered with Trump stickers resolve political disagree- Atlanta, Georgia. None ex-
amateur body builder who his own hand,” the judge and images of crosshairs su- ments through violence. ploded.
admitted sending pipe said. perimposed over the faces “Cesar Sayoc has now In letters to the judge,
bombs to prominent Dem- The one-time stripper and of Trump opponents. Sayoc been sentenced for acts Sayoc has said he abused
ocrats and CNN was sen- pizza delivery man from “looked up to the president of domestic terrorism that steroids for more than four
tenced to 20 years in prison Aventura, Florida, apolo- as a father figure,” the law- are repulsive to all Ameri- decades and was using 274
Monday by a judge who gized to his victims, saying yer said. cans who cherish a soci- different supplements and
concluded the bombs pur- he was “so very sorry for Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane ety built on respectful and vitamins along with “heavy
posely were not designed what I did.” Kim said Sayoc “set out to non-violent political dis- amounts of steroids” before
to explode. His targets included Hill- terrorize people” and had course,” Demers said. “Our his arrest.
Cesar Sayoc, 57, wept and ary Clinton, former Vice not sufficiently shown re- democracy depends on He wrote that before he
crossed himself, appearing President Joe Biden, sev- morse. our debating our strongly mailed explosives, his idea
relieved, when U.S. District eral members of Congress, “Politics cannot justify a held views peacefully and “first was how to tone down
Judge Jed S. Rakoff an- former President Barack terrorist attack,” she said, respectfully, and when the liberal left violence
nounced the sentence. Obama and actor Robert while the judge dismissed someone does not, on our platform.” He wrote that he
Prosecutors had urged a De Niro. Devices were also talk of Trump as a “side prosecuting and punishing believed prominent Demo-
life prison term for Sayoc, mailed to CNN offices in show.” those who do not abide by crats were encouraging
who pleaded guilty earlier New York and Atlanta. Assistant Attorney General these values.” violence, saying he had
this year after mailing 16 Assistant Federal Defender John Demers, the head of Sayoc read from a hand- been attacked personally
pipe bombs days before Marcus Amelkin said Sayoc the Justice Department’s written statement shortly — including as he returned
the midterm elections last was obsessed with Presi- national security division, before he was sentenced, to his hotel after attending
fall. dent Donald Trump and said in a statement that saying he blamed a life of Trump’s inauguration.q