Cesar Sayoc, the Florida bodybuilder and nightclub bouncer who mailed inoperative pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and media figures seen as critical of President Donald Trump, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, NPR reports. Sayoc, 57, was arrested last October and pleaded guilty in March to mailing 16 improvised explosive devices to 13 targets, including 11 current or former U.S. government officials, before the 2018 congressional elections. “I wish more than anything I could turn back time and take back what I did,” Sayoc told U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York City. “But I want you to know, Your Honor, with all my heart and soul, I feel the pain and suffering of these victims.”
Sayoc blamed his behavior on his mental illness and excessive use of steroids. His intended victims were former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CNN, Robert De Niro, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), former Attorney General Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama, George Soros, Thomas Steyer and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). None of Sayoc’s devices exploded. At his sentencing Monday, Sayoc said that although his homemade devices looked like pipe bombs, he did not intend for them to explode. Sayoc’s attorneys argued that he was motivated by his obsession with Trump and his anger at Democrats, whom he blamed for the vandalism of his van, which displayed Trump stickers. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence.