Federal authorities have arrested one individual in connection with suspected explosives sent to top Democrats, former senior US officials and prominent critics of President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice said on Friday.
The news of the arrest came not long after authorities said two more suspicious packages were found on Friday, bringing the total number of suspect packages discovered over the past week to 12.
The name and location of the individual were not immediately disclosed, but officials are expected to provide additional details at a news conference later in the day.
The two new packages discovered on Friday were addressed to US Senator Cory Booker and James Clapper, the former US director of national intelligence.
There were also reports that a possible second package addressed to Clapper was discovered at a US mail facility in New York. Those reports have not been confirmed.
“This is definitely domestic terrorism, no question about it in my mind,” Clapper told CNN. “This is not going to silence the administration’s critics.”
Prior to the arrest, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Friday that the Justice Department was dedicating every available resource to the investigation and “I can tell you this: We will find the person or persons responsible. We will bring them to justice.”
In Florida, where the investigation was focused, local police and canine units joined federal investigators on Thursday to examine a sprawling US mail distribution centre at Opa-Locka, northwest of Miami.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Florida appeared to be the starting point for at least some of the bomb shipments.
“I am confident that this person or people will be brought to justice,” Nielsen told Fox News Channel on Thursday.
Trump says ‘bomb stuff’ slowing Republican momentum
The wave of parcel bombs has been denounced by authorities as terrorism and comes less than two weeks before US congressional elections. The results could alter the balance of power in Washington, DC.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told MSNBC on Friday that the mail bombs were stoking fear across the county and that US leaders, including Trump, must reassure the public.
“Elected officials and others need to say that this is not who we are as a country,” Warner said. “That would be a heck of a lot stronger if that message also came from the White House.”
All the individuals targeted by the suspicious packages have often been maligned by right-wing critics. They included Democratic Party donor George Soros, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The FBI said that at least five of the packages bore a return address from the Florida office of US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.
There has been an outcry from Trump’s critics, who charged that his inflammatory rhetoric against Democrats and the press has created a climate for politically motivated violence.
After first calling for “unity” and civil discourse on Wednesday, Trump lashed out again Thursday at the “hateful” media. His supporters accused Democrats of unfairly suggesting the president was to blame for the bomb scare.
“Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, “it’s just not Presidential!” Trump said on Twitter early on Friday.
Later on Friday morning, he tweeted that “this ‘bomb’ stuff” is slowing the momentum for Republicans in the leadup to the November 6 midterm elections.
“Republicans are doing so well early voting, and at the polls, and now this ‘bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows – news not talking politics,” he said, adding “Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans go out and vote!”
Devices treated as ‘live’ explosives
Authorities believe the packages, which were intercepted before reaching their intended recipients, all went through the US Postal Service at some point, news agencies reported, citing federal security sources. None detonated and no one has been hurt.
The devices were thought to have been fashioned from bomb-making designs widely available on the internet, a federal law enforcement source told Reuters news agency.
Still, investigators are treating the devices as “live” explosives, not a hoax, said James O’Neill, the New York City police commissioner.
Investigators have declined to say whether the devices were built to be functional. Bomb experts and security analysts say that based on their rudimentary construction it appeared they were more likely designed to sow fear than to kill.
The parcels each consisted of a manila envelope with a bubble-wrap interior containing “potentially destructive devices,” the FBI said. Each was affixed with a computer-printed address label and six US “Forever” postage stamps, the agency said.
Two packages were sent to Waters and Biden. Others who received the bombs were former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan, US Representative Maxine Waters of California, and actor Robert De Niro.
“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us,” De Niro said in a statement. “There’s something more powerful than bombs, and that’s your vote. People MUST vote!”
