US federal agents arrested a suspect in relation to a series of suspicious packages sent to prominent Democratic and left-wing figures over the last week, law enforcement sources say.
The parcels contained crude, homemade pipe bombs, and were sent to former president Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, former attorney general Eric Holder, and CNN’s New York studios.
Law enforcement had narrowed down their investigations to Florida since all the packages listed Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office as their return addresses. FBI agents raided a mail facility in Opa-locka, Florida on Thursday evening, and had since been examining CCTV footage from the facility.
None of the devices actually exploded, and while law enforcement officials initially treated all as “rudimentary, yet functional” explosives, several have been declared duds.
It is not yet known whether the suspect intended them to detonate or to incite fear.
