Trump fan Sayoc sentenced for bombs to Dems

A court sentenced a Florida man and avowed Donald Trump supporter to 20 years in prison for sending bombs to Democrats and media. Fifty-seven-year-old Cesar Sayoc, who pleaded guilty to using weapons of mass destruction, began crying when US District Judge Jed Rakoff read the sentence Monday in Manhattan.

Defense lawyer Ian Marcus Amelkin blamed steroidal delusions for Sayoc's crimes. He said his client saw the president as a "father figure" and became obsessed with conspiracy theories about Trump's perceived enemies: "We believe that the president's rhetoric contributed to Mr. Sayoc's behavior."

Sayoc discovered Trump just as the disgraced former reality show host's political star had begun to rise. He shared images supportive of Trump on social media and posted articles from nationalist and conspiracy-driven websites such as Infowars and Breitbart. In one post he wore a "Make America Great Again" hat, and he reportedly ranted to colleagues about Jews, as well as black and LGBTQ+ people.

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He sent pipes stuffed with wires, powder, glass and alarm clocks to former President Barack Obama; former Vice President Joe Biden; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, Bill; Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris; and other high-profile figures. Officials intercepted the devices, which, federal investigators concluded, had no mechanism to trigger explosions and "would not have functioned as designed." The president's allies initially attempted to dissociate the administration from Sayoc until filmmaker Michael Moore released footage of the bomber attending a Trump rally, one month after the inauguration.

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'Not so lost'

Prosecutors sought a life sentence; the defense wanted 10 years plus one month. Assistant US Attorney Jane Kim argued that Sayoc "set out to terrorize people."

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Amelkin, the defense attorney, said Sayoc, who lived in a van plastered with Trump stickers when he was arrested in 2018, struggled with disabilities, the effects of childhood abuse and social isolation. Sayoc himself expressed remorse shortly before the sentencing. "I am so very sorry for what I did," he said.

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In a handwritten letter to Judge Rakoff after his guilty plea on 65 counts — including using a weapon of mass destruction, illegal mailing of explosives and making threats — Sayoc called the bombs a "hoax."

Rakoff ruled that Sayoc wished victims "no good, but he was not so lost as to wish them dead — at least not by his own hand."

mkg/kl (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)

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