The political environment two weeks before national elections turned potentially explosive as several outspoken critics of the president were targeted by mail bombs. Investigators are working hard to discover the source but in a bizarre twist, all of the packages bore the same return address: a prominent Democratic leader.
Packages containing pipe bombs and suspicious white powder were addressed on Wednesday, Oct. 24 to Hillary and Bill Clinton at their Chappaqua, New York home, to Barack Obama in Washington D.C., to former CIA chief John Brennan at the CNN New York studio, and former Attorney General Eric Holder. The package addressed to Holder was addressed incorrectly and ended up in the Florida office of Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz.
Later Wednesday, the FBI said two additional packages addressed for Rep. Maxine Waters had been intercepted by the Post Office that were similar in appearance to the other parcels. Similar suspicious packages were reportedly sent to former Vice President Joe Biden and actor Robert De Niro, also a vocal critic of the president.
The packages addressed to the Clintons and Obama were stopped by the Secret Service before being delivered to their mailboxes. Two days earlier, a similar package was delivered to the controversial donor and billionaire George Soros in Manhattan.
The pipe bombs, made from PVC tubing and covered in black tape,were about six inches long, set with a battery for detonation, and packed with shards of glass and a suspicious white powder. They were packed in manila envelopes with bubble-wrap interior bearing six stamps. The bombs were reported to be crude but operational.
None of the bombs exploded and no one was hurt.
Security services released the results of initial findings from their investigation, which indicate that all the packages came from a single source or group, whose identity has yet to be discovered. The return address written on all of the packages was that of Wasserman Shultz, the former head of the Democratic National Committee while Obama was president.
BREAKING: Three senior law enforcement officials tell NBC the return address name on the suspicious packages found at Clinton, Obama, and Soros’ addresses belongs to DNC official Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) October 24, 2018
The bomb threats come two weeks before hotly contested national elections.
President Trump decried the acts of violence.
“We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony,” he said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin. “Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy itself.”
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted his indignation at the bomb threats and President Trump was quick to agree.
I agree wholeheartedly! https://t.co/ndzu0A30vU
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2018
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”