WASHINGTON — The man accused of sending bomb-like devices to at least 15 high-profile Democratic lawmakers, celebrities and CNN had been planning since at least July, according to a letter filed Tuesday night in federal court.
Cesar Sayoc, 56, was arrested Friday after a string of packages containing explosives were discovered across the country. A letter from prosecutors sent to U.S. Judge Edwin Torres in Miami details some of the evidence against Sayoc and argues he should stay behind bars until his trial, which prosecutors plan to hold in New York.
"The evidence of the defendant’s terror campaign is still being collected but is already overwhelming," prosecutors wrote in the letter. "The defendant conducted a domestic terrorist attack targeting at least 15 victims with improvised explosive devices ("IEDs") that he sent to locations throughout the country in padded mailing envelopes."
The letter includes the FBI's recovery of additional packages addressed to CNN's Atlanta office and liberal billionaire Thomas Steyer that were intercepted after Sayoc's first appearance before a judge Monday. It also includes some of the evidence the FBI collected after Sayoc's arrest.
Authorities said they searched a phone and laptop found in Sayoc's van, which was covered in stickers that had targets over the faces of some prominent Democrats, and found shipping labels saved in his documents. He was reportedly living in his van.
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The labels were a match to the ones found on packages in the FBI's possession, prosecutors said. The first labels saved on his computer were found in a document saved on July 26 with addresses for Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose name and address he listed as the return address for his mailings, prosecutors said.
Sayoc's planning intensified in September, prosecutors said, as more mailing labels were created along with a list of potential targets. Prosecutors said "numerous additional targets" were discovered in the search of Sayoc's electronics and the FBI "is warning each individual."
Sayoc's internet search history shows he was looking for the addresses of targets as far back as July 15, when he searched for Hillary Clinton's home address, court documents show. His searches increased in September and October. Some of the Sayoc's online inquiries included the families of prominent lawmakers and Democratic figures. He searched for the "wife and kids" of former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Attorney General Eric Holder and former CIA Director James Brennan.
"Put simply, only the defendant’s arrest and incapacitation resulting from his detention were sufficient to stop his attack," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also detailed more about the devices in the packages, including that shards of glass were found in several of the IEDs for the "apparent purpose of maximizing harm to his intended victims," the letter states.