Trump supporter pleads guilty to mailing 16 explosive devices to Trump critics
 

Another day and another Trump supporter spending the rest of his life in prison never able to vote again. When will trump supporters learn they are not above the law?

Trump supporter pleads guilty to mailing 16 explosive devices to Trump critics

Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man accused of mailing explosive devices to more than a dozen politicians and media figures who have been critical of President Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court. Sayoc, 57, was arrested and charged in October after a series of possible explosive devices were sent to former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the news network CNN, among others. Officials said he sent a total of 16 devices to 13 people across the country.

On Thursday, he appeared in a Manhattan court room and read from a brief written statement in a quiet, raspy voice. Sayoc acknowledging that he created the devices and sent them in the mail. "I knew these actions were wrong. I'm extremely sorry," Sayoc said. He briefly lost his composure at one point while speaking, prompting his attorneys to rub his back. Responding to a question from U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, Sayoc said: "I was aware of the risk that they would explode."

Sayoc's guilty plea had been anticipated since his court docket showed last week that a pretrial conference scheduled for Thursday had been changed to a "plea" hearing. He had previously pleaded not guilty. The string of potentially explosive packages caused panic across the country as they were received or intercepted en route to current and former government officials as well as prominent political donors. The packages were addressed to two former presidents -- Obama and Bill Clinton -- along with sitting United States senators, the actor Robert De Niro and the billionaire activist George Soros, among others. All of the targets had criticized Trump, who had apparently become the focus of Sayoc's intense admiration.

People who knew Sayoc have described his peripatetic existence, saying that he lived for years out of his van while working as a DJ or bouncer at strip clubs. He was charged with a number of crimes over the years, including theft and battery; in one case, he was accused of invoking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks while threatening the power company.