FBI says fingerprint on package to Maxine Waters led them to Cesar Sayoc

A fingerprint on a potentially explosive package sent to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters led the FBI to a South Florida man and connected him to 13 packages sent to prominent Democrats this week, federal authorities said Friday.

The Department of Justice said Cesar Sayoc, a 56-year-old man from Aventura, will be charged with interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of explosives, threats against former presidents and certain other persons, threatening interstate communications and assaulting federal officers. The five charges carry a potential 48 years in total prison time if Sayoc is convicted, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.

“We do believe that we’ve caught the right person,” FBI Director Chris Wray said at a news conference in Washington. “Once I knew [the FBI] had a print, I was pretty confident we’d be able to find the right person.”

Law enforcement officials confirmed that 13 total suspicious packages were sent over the past week. Each of the packages contained six inches of PVC pipe, a small clock battery, wiring and “energetic material” that could be potentially explosive if exposed to heat, shock or friction, Wray said.

The package sent to Waters was found at a facility that processes congressional mail just outside Washington, and it was quickly transported to an FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia. FBI employees then identified a fingerprint on that package that led to Sayoc.

Wray did not confirm if there are other potential suspects associated with the packages, citing an ongoing investigation.

“This is phenomenal work with the greatest pressure under an incredibly tight time frame,” Wray said. “We see this work on TV and in Hollywood but to see it in reality is something to behold.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of years Sayoc could serve in prison due to incorrect information provided by Sessions.

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 3:32 PM.