美国国家公共电台 NPR Feds Charge Florida Man With Mailing Improvised Bombs To Trump Political Critics

Feds Charge Florida Man With Mailing Improvised¹ Bombs To Trump² Political Critics

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Four days after suspicious packages began arriving in the mail for prominent Democrats³ and critics of President Trump, a suspect is in custody⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRISTOPHER WRAY: We have arrested Cesar Sayoc in connection with this investigation⁵.

SHAPIRO: That's FBI Director Christopher Wray announcing the capture. NPR Justice reporter Ryan Lucas joins us now with details. And Ryan, walk us through the drama this morning and the capture of the suspect.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE⁶: Well, we knew last night that the investigation was focusing on two places, New York and South Florida in particular. And this morning, authorities arrested Sayoc at an AutoZone store north of Miami. There was TV footage showing FBI officials and other law enforcement officers taking custody of a white van that was plastered with pro-Trump stickers near an AutoZone store there. A family attorney says that the van is Sayoc's. Now a criminal complaint has been filed against him in federal court in New York. He faces five counts in all, including illegally mailing explosives and threatening former presidents as well as others.

SHAPIRO: Can you tell us a little bit about the clues and the evidence that led the FBI to him?

LUCAS: It was actually a clue from one of the packages. FBI director Christopher Wray says that the FBI was able to pull a fingerprint⁷ off of one of those bubble-lined manila envelopes that we've talked about a lot over the past week. That fingerprint matched Sayoc's.

Wray says there's also a possible DNA⁸ connection from some of the homemade pipe bombs that were sent in two separate packages. Those appear to match Sayoc as well. And authorities have also identified a Twitter account that they say belonged to him. And the clue there was some of the words that were misspelled on the packages matched the misspelling on the Twitter account.

SHAPIRO: Wow. I know that you, our librarians, others at NPR have been looking into his background today. Tell us what you've learned about him.

LUCAS: Well, he's 56 years old. He is a resident of South Florida. He registered as a Republican in March of 2016. He has a pretty lengthy⁹ criminal history in Florida that includes charges of felony theft and drugs. He was also arrested over a possible bomb threat in 2002. He appears to have really kind of struggled for a very long time to find his place, to maintain a steady income. For example, he filed for bankruptcy¹⁰ back in 2012. On that form, he said that he lived with his mother, that he didn't own any furniture. His occupation on that form, though, he listed as store manager.

SHAPIRO: Today had kind of the hallmarks of a climax¹¹ of the investigation with the FBI director, the attorney general all talking about it. Now that he's in custody, is that it? What happens next?

LUCAS: Well, the FBI will want to know whether Sayoc was working alone, whether there was somebody who was helping¹² him with this. They'll also want to know whether there are any more packages that were sent but are unaccounted for yet 'cause remember; there were more discovered just this morning. There could still be more out there.

As things stand now, Wray says that each of the 13 devices that have been confirmed had 6 inches of PVC pipe, a small clock, a battery. There was wiring and a potential explosive material. He says that lab analysts¹³ are still examining those, but he made clear that these are not hoax¹⁴ devices.

SHAPIRO: And of course one big question is motive¹⁵. Do you have any information about why he allegedly sent these packages to prominent Democrats, CNN, critics of President Trump and targets of President Trump's criticism?

LUCAS: Well, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was asked that exact question this afternoon. He did not want to say much on the topic. All that he would say is that Sayoc appears to be a partisan¹⁶, but that will be determined¹⁷ by the facts of the case. I'll say that I've looked through his Twitter postings. There was a lot of pro-Trump sentiment in there, a lot of vitriol directed at Democrats. Authorities of course already have their eyes on that account - so definitely something that authorities are taking a look at.

SHAPIRO: That's NPR's Ryan Lucas following the investigation and today's arrest. Thanks, Ryan.

LUCAS: Thank you.

1 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

15 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

16 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

17 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。