At least 10 explosive devices were sent to a group of prominent Democrats and Trump critics this week, including former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, and actor Robert DeNiro. The devices, which resembled pipe bombs, were mailed to political targets frequently criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump and right-wing figures. Authorities believe all of the suspicious packages came from the same sender.
Trump made an effort to condemn the violence, saying "acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America." But then he went on to blame the media for the attacks and the "anger we see today in our society," even though he frequently has peddled conspiracy theories about the bomb targets and has used inflammatory rhetoric against his political enemies.
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Ahead, everything we know so far about the attempted bombings. We'll continue to update this story as more information comes to light.
Who were the targets of the possible explosives?
George Soros: The philanthropist billionaire, who is the frequent target of right-wing and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, received a suspicious package at his home in New York Monday. The explosive device was detonated by the authorities.
Hillary Clinton: The package aimed at the former secretary of state was intercepted late Tuesday during a routine mail inspection conducted by the Secret Service. It was addressed to the Clintons' residence in New York.
President Barack Obama: The package was intercepted early Wednesday during a routine mail inspection conducted by the Secret Service. It was addressed to Obama's D.C. office.
John Brennan: A "live explosive device" addressed to the former CIA director and MSNBC contributor was delivered to CNN's offices in New York City. Authorities also found an envelope containing white powder.
Eric Holder: A suspicions package was addressed to the former attorney general, but its return address was Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Florida office. Schultz is also the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). After failing to reach Holder, the package was received at Schultz's office Wednesday.
Rep. Maxine Waters: The Democratic congresswoman was targeted with two packages Wednesday: One sent to her office in Washington, D.C. and another was found at a postal office in Los Angeles.
Joe Biden: Authorities located two packages addressed to the former vice president, both found at two separate Delaware post offices.
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Robert De Niro: The actor received the package at the New York office of his company TriBeCa Productions on Wednesday and authorities removed it early Thursday after an employee called the NYPD.
Who is behind the attempts?
Authorities have not identified a suspect or motive yet. Investigators from the FBI, Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are working together in New York and other cities to determined who is behind the attempted attacks and why.
“This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation.”
Anyone with information about the packages should contact the American agency at 1-800-CALL-FBI or via tips.fbi.gov.