President Donald Trump on Friday addressed the taking into custody of man in Florida in connection with the suspected mail bombs sent to high-profile figures and organizations.
“These terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country. No place,” Trump said during a previously-scheduled event with a group of young black conservatives. “We must never allow political violence to take root in America.”
Trump’s remarks came just hours after the President tweeted that “this ‘Bomb’ stuff” was distracting from the upcoming midterms.
The person in Florida was taken into custody after investigators responded to two suspicious devices on Friday, one of which was addressed to Sen. Cory Booker and the other to former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Among the other high-profile intended recipients include former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former CIA Director John Brennan. The mailings to Brennan and Clapper were addressed to CNN’s offices in New York. A total of 12 packages have been found so far.
Many of the people intended to receive the packages have either personally criticized Trump or have been criticized by him in the past.
Law enforcement agents were seen examining a white van with a blue tarp over it Friday morning. Images posted to social media depict a vehicle that appears to be covered in stickers celebrating the President.
Trump congratulated local and national law enforcement officials for apprehending a potential suspect, comparing the hunt to finding a “needle in a haystack.”
He indicated the guilty party or parties would be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
