WASHINGTON | Suspicious packages addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper — and similar in appearance to pipe bomb devices sent to other prominent Democrats — have been intercepted, the FBI said Friday, as investigators scrambled from coast to coast to locate the culprit and motives behind a bizarre plot aimed at critics of President Donald Trump.

The discoveries brought to 12 the total number of devices addressed in recent days to Democratic figures including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

The FBI said the package to Booker was intercepted in Florida. The one discovered at a Manhattan postal facility was addressed to Clapper c/o CNN. An earlier package had been sent to former Obama CIA Director John Brennan in care of CNN in New York.

Investigators were analyzing the innards of the crude devices to reveal whether they were intended to detonate or simply sow fear just before Election Day.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that the devices, containing timers and batteries, were not rigged like booby-trapped package bombs that would explode upon opening. But they were uncertain whether the devices were poorly designed or never intended to cause physical harm. A search of a postal database suggested at least some may have been mailed from Florida, one official said. Investigators are homing in on a postal facility in Opa-locka, Florida, where they believe some of the packages originated, another official said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation by name.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in an interview Thursday night with Fox News Channel, acknowledged that some of packages originated in Florida.

New details about the devices came as the four-day mail bomb scare spread nationwide, drawing investigators from dozens of federal, state and local agencies in the effort to identify one or more perpetrators.

The targets have included Obama, Hillary Clinton, CNN and Rep. Maxine Waters of California. The common thread among them was obvious: their critical words for Trump and his frequent, harsher criticism in return.

Trump claimed on Friday he was being blamed for the mail bombs addressed to his critics, complaining in a tweet sent before dawn: “Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, ‘it’s just not Presidential!'”

At a press conference Thursday, officials in New York would not discuss possible motives or details on how the packages found their way into the U.S. postal system. Nor would they say why none of the packages had detonated, but they stressed they were still treating them as “live devices.”

“As far as a hoax device, we’re not treating it that way,” police Commissioner James O’Neill said.

Details suggested a pattern — that the items were packaged in manila envelopes, addressed to prominent Trump critics and carried U.S. postage stamps. The devices were being examined by technicians at the FBI’s forensic lab in Quantico, Virginia.

The packages stoked nationwide tensions and fears as voters prepared to vote Nov. 6 to determine partisan control of Congress — a campaign both major political parties have described in near-apocalyptic terms. Even with the sender still unknown, politicians from both parties used the threats to decry a toxic political climate and lay blame.

“A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News,” Trump said on Twitter. “It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”

Former CIA Director Brennan, the target of a package sent to CNN, fired back.

“Stop blaming others. Look in the mirror,” Brennan tweeted. “Your inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, & encouragement of physical violence are disgraceful. Clean up your act….try to act Presidential.”

The list of bombing targets spread from New York, Delaware and Washington, D.C., to Florida and California.

The explosive devices were packed in envelopes with bubble-wrap interiors bearing six American flag stamps and the return address of Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

The bombs seized Wednesday were about 6 inches (15 centimeters) long and packed with powder and broken glass, according to a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images. The official said the devices were made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape. At the New York briefing, authorities confirmed that at least some of the packages were distributed through the U.S. mail, and cautioned that there could be additional devices in the postal system. They said investigators searching for more suspicious parcels had not found any during the previous eight hours.

David Chipman, a retired federal ATF agent and now senior policy adviser for the Giffords Center, said the details revealed telltale signs that could help guide investigators.

The tape on the pipe is “an investigator’s dream,” he said, recalling a case in Texas that was solved because the fibers on the tape were traced to the bomber’s dog. He said bombers tend to plot methodically.

“This is someone sitting down and spending time thinking about what they’re going to do to someone else. And some people like to relish that,” he said.

The new packages discovered Thursday set off a new wave of alarm.

A retired New York police detective working in security in De Niro’s Manhattan office called police after seeing images of a package bomb sent to CNN and recalling a similar package addressed to the actor, officials said.

The packages addressed to Biden were intercepted at Delaware mail facilities in New Castle and Wilmington, according to a law enforcement official who, like others, wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Like earlier targets, both Biden and De Niro have been sharply critical of Trump. The actor dropped an expletive insult at Trump at this year’s Tony Awards and apologized to Canadians for the “idiotic behavior of my president.” Biden said last week that the president may not “know what he’s doing” and coddles dictators.

On Thursday, during a campaign trip to suburban Buffalo, Biden said: “We’ve got to get off this hate machine. We’ve got to come together.”

The packages were “clearly an effort to terrorize people politically, to choose people for political purposes and attack them because of their beliefs,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The first crude bomb to be discovered was delivered Monday to the suburban New York compound of George Soros, a liberal billionaire and major contributor to Democratic causes. Soros has called Trump’s presidency “dangerous.”

Similar packages addressed to Clinton and Obama were intercepted on their way to Clinton’s New York home, where she lives with former President Bill Clinton, and to Washington, where Obama lives with his wife, Michelle Obama. The Secret Service said neither package reached its intended recipient.

Other packages were sent to frequent Trump critics Waters, D-Calif., and former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder. His ended up at the Sunrise, Florida, office of Wasserman Schultz, who was listed as the return address.

A police bomb squad removed the package addressed to Brennan on Wednesday from CNN’s New York office, which was evacuated.

In response to the events, Trump decried political violence but also joked about moving to more polite speeches.

“Let’s get along,” he said at a Wisconsin rally Wednesday night. “By the way, do you see how nice I’m behaving tonight? Have you ever seen this?”

Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Ken Thomas, Jill Colvin and Chad Day in Washington and Jim Mustian, Deepti Hajela and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.

For the AP’s complete coverage of the mail-bomb scare: https://apnews.com/PipeBombAttacks.</s>Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks at the Netroots Nation annual conference for political progressives in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 3, 2018.

More suspicious devices addressed to prominent Democrats — to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, California Sen. Kamala Harris and another to former intelligence chief James Clapper — were being investigated by law enforcement officials Friday.

The device addressed to Booker was intercepted in South Florida. The FBI confirmed that a suspicious package addressed to Booker had been recovered, adding that it was "similar in appearance" to at least 10 other packages this week addressed to high-profile Democrats and media figures.

Booker's office did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.

Separately, the New York Police Department said it removed a suspicious package from a U.S. Postal Service branch in midtown Manhattan that was "consistent" with the other suspected explosives. NBC News reported that the package was addressed to Clapper, who was the director of national intelligence during the Obama administration.

Later Friday morning, a man was arrested in Florida in connection with the ongoing investigation and is expected to face federal criminal charges, according to NBC News.

After the arrest of Florida resident Cesar Sayoc, 56, law enforcement officials told NBC that a similar package addressed to Harris was intercepted at a Sacramento postal facility.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that "the president is receiving constant information as it is available." President Donald Trump, in a tweet Friday morning, said it was "very unfortunate" that the "'Bomb' stuff" has slowed the GOP's voting momentum ahead of the November midterm elections.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's inquiries about the president's tweet.

Packages sent in manila envelopes and containing potentially explosive material have been addressed to former president Barack Obama, the New York residence of former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the New York office of news network CNN and actor Robert De Niro, among others.

De Niro, in a statement, said: "I thank God no one's been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us. There's something more powerful than bombs, and that's your vote. People MUST vote!"</s>The total number of bomb-like devices reached 12 Friday after two more suspicious packages were recovered, one in Florida addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and the other in New York addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

A source told USA TODAY a package addressed to Clapper was recovered at a Manhattan postal facility. Like some of the previous packages addressed to prominent Democrats, the one found in New York City on Friday had the office of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the return address, a photo obtained by CBS News showed.

The nation has been on heightened alert in the wake of bomb-like devices addressed to top liberals, including former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden.

The New York Police Department on Friday closed a Manhattan intersection to traffic and pedestrians as investigators handle the suspicious package. The NYPD said pedestrians and motorists should avoid the area near W. 52nd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues as police investigated the area.

The device addressed to Booker was recovered at a mail sorting distribution center in Opa Locka, Fla., which has drawn intense investigative interest in recent days, as authorities believe that many of the suspected explosive devices passed through the state, a law enforcement official said.

Investigators are continuing to review mail streams in and out of Florida, attempting to pinpoint locations where the parcels may have originated, said the official who is not authorized to comment publicly.

Sen. Booker, a likely presidential contender in 2020, had no public events scheduled Friday. When contacted for comment, his office directed calls to law enforcement, citing the ongoing investigation.

On Wednesday, after news of the initial wave of packages broke, Booker, 49, tweeted: "These targeted acts of terror are despicable cowardice."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions cancelled a planned trip to Louisville, Ky., Friday to ensure that all federal law enforcement resources, including the aircraft and personnel required for the attorney general's travel, were being devoted to the investigation.

Sessions was scheduled to speak in Louisville about the federal government's efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

Police have investigated multiple unattended packages in recent days and are urging the public to report anything that could be dangerous.

On Thursday, the NYPD Bomb Squad handled multiple unattended packages inside a mall at 10 Columbus Circle before declaring the area safe. Police urged the public to "say something if you see something," in a tweet.

New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill said in a news conference earlier Thursday that the devices were not being treated as a hoax, describing them as "suspected explosive devices."

The powder found in packaging in New York addressed to CNN's offices wasn’t a biological weapon, but further testing was being done, O’Neill said. The devices were being examined at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.

FBI Assistant Director Bill Sweeney on Thursday said the investigation is nationwide and noted that more devices could be discovered. “It does remain possible that further packages have been or could be mailed," he said. "These devices should be considered dangerous.”

Kevin Barry, a former member of New York Police Department's bomb squad and a former director of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, expected the FBI analyses to be focused on both the design and recovery of physical evidence.

Testing would gauge the functionality of the devices, check the type of pipe used and examine the powder to determine whether it is high explosive, low explosive or a chemical substance intended to be dispersed when the devices were triggered, Barry said.

A look at those who were addressed packages that carried suspicious devices in October 2018, as of Oct. 25.</s>An 11th suspicious package, this one addressed to U.S. Senator Corey Booker of New Jersey, has been recovered in Florida, multiple sources told ABC News.

The package was recovered at or near Opa-locka Florida, which has emerged as a focal point for investigators trying to track down the sender of the suspected mail bombs, law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

It's one of the postal centers the packages may have moved through and the Miami-Dade police bomb squad swept the facility at the request of the FBI as a precautionary measure.

Three more devices were linked to the plot Thursday - two addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and one to actor Robert De Niro - in an outbreak of politically loaded menace with little if any precedent. Authorities warned there might well be more.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that the devices, containing timers and batteries, were not rigged like booby-trapped package bombs that would explode upon opening. But they were uncertain whether the devices were poorly designed or never intended to cause physical harm. A search of a postal database suggested at least some may have been mailed from Florida, one official said. Investigators are homing in on a postal facility in Opa-locka, Florida, where they believe some of the packages originated, another official said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation by name.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in an interview Thursday night with Fox News Channel, acknowledged that some of packages originated in Florida.

New details about the devices came as the four-day mail bomb scare spread nationwide, drawing investigators from dozens of federal, state and local agencies in the effort to identify one or more perpetrators.

The targets have included former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, CNN and Rep. Maxine Waters of California. The common thread among them was obvious: critical words for Donald Trump and frequent, harsher criticism in return.

Trump claimed on Friday he was being blamed for the mail bombs addressed to his critics, complaining in a tweet sent before dawn: "Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, 'it's just not Presidential!'"

At a press conference Thursday, officials in New York would not discuss possible motives or details on how the packages found their way into the U.S. postal system. Nor would they say why none of the packages had detonated, but they stressed they were still treating them as "live devices."

"As far as a hoax device, we're not treating it that way," police Commissioner James O'Neill said.

Details suggested a pattern - that the items were packaged in manila envelopes, addressed to prominent Trump critics and carried U.S. postage stamps. The devices were being examined by technicians at the FBI's forensic lab in Quantico, Virginia.

The packages stoked nationwide tensions and fears as voters prepared to vote Nov. 6 to determine partisan control of Congress - a campaign both major political parties have described in near-apocalyptic terms. Even with the sender still unknown, politicians from both parties used the threats to decry a toxic political climate and lay blame.

"A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump said on Twitter. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"

Former CIA Director John Brennan, the target of a package sent to CNN, fired back.

"Stop blaming others. Look in the mirror," Brennan tweeted. "Your inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, & encouragement of physical violence are disgraceful. Clean up your act....try to act Presidential."

The list of bombing targets spread from New York, Delaware and Washington, D.C., to Florida and California.

The explosive devices were packed in envelopes with bubble-wrap interiors bearing six American flag stamps and the return address of Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

The bombs seized Wednesday were about 6 inches (15 centimeters) long and packed with powder and broken glass, according to a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images. The official said the devices were made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape. At the New York briefing, authorities confirmed that at least some of the packages were distributed through the U.S. mail, and cautioned that there could be additional devices in the postal system. They said investigators searching for more suspicious parcels had not found any during the previous eight hours.

David Chipman, a retired federal ATF agent and now senior policy adviser for the Giffords Center, said the details revealed telltale signs that could help guide investigators.

The tape on the pipe is "an investigator's dream," he said, recalling a case in Texas that was solved because the fibers on the tape were traced to the bomber's dog. He said bombers tend to plot methodically.

"This is someone sitting down and spending time thinking about what they're going to do to someone else. And some people like to relish that," he said.

The new packages discovered Thursday set off a new wave of alarm.

A retired New York police detective working in security in De Niro's Manhattan office called police after seeing images of a package bomb sent to CNN and recalling a similar package addressed to the actor, officials said.

The packages addressed to Biden were intercepted at Delaware mail facilities in New Castle and Wilmington, according to a law enforcement official who, like others, wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Like earlier targets, both Biden and De Niro have been sharply critical of Trump. The actor dropped an expletive insult at Trump at this year's Tony Awards and apologized to Canadians for the "idiotic behavior of my president." Biden said last week that the president may not "know what he's doing" and coddles dictators.

On Thursday, during a campaign trip to suburban Buffalo, Biden said: "We've got to get off this hate machine. We've got to come together."

The packages were "clearly an effort to terrorize people politically, to choose people for political purposes and attack them because of their beliefs," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The first crude bomb to be discovered was delivered Monday to the suburban New York compound of George Soros, a liberal billionaire and major contributor to Democratic causes. Soros has called Trump's presidency "dangerous."

Similar packages addressed to Clinton and Obama were intercepted on their way to Clinton's New York home, where she lives with former President Bill Clinton, and to Washington, where Obama lives with his wife, Michelle Obama. The Secret Service said neither package reached its intended recipient.

Other packages were sent to frequent Trump critics Waters, D-Calif., and former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder. His ended up at the Sunrise, Florida, office of Wasserman Schultz, who was listed as the return address.

A police bomb squad removed the package addressed to Brennan on Wednesday from CNN's New York office, which was evacuated.

In response to the events, Trump decried political violence but also joked about moving to more polite speeches.

"Let's get along," he said at a Wisconsin rally Wednesday night. "By the way, do you see how nice I'm behaving tonight? Have you ever seen this?"</s>PLANTATION, Fla. (Reuters) - A man suspected of sending at least 14 bombs to prominent critics of U.S. President Donald Trump in the run-up to elections next month was arrested on Friday in Florida and charged with five federal felonies.

Cesar Sayoc, 56, a former stripper and professional wrestler once charged with threatening to bomb an electric company for trying to shut off his lights, was taken into custody outside an auto parts store in Plantation, Florida, near Miami.

Authorities also seized a white van belonging to Sayoc, the windows of which were plastered with pro-Trump stickers, the slogan "CNN SUCKS" and images of Democratic politicians with red cross-hairs over their faces.

Fingerprint and DNA evidence was used to identify the suspect, but Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray cautioned that the arrest did not necessarily end the threat.

"There may be other packages in transit now and other packages on the way," Wray said.

One federal law enforcement source told Reuters that authorities were investigating whether other individuals were involved and did not rule out more arrests.

Sayoc's arrest followed an intense four-day manhunt sparked by bombs addressed to high-profile Democrats and critics of Trump including former U.S. President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated in the 2016 presidential race.

The first of the bombs surfaced on Monday at the Westchester County, New York, home of billionaire Democratic donor George Soros. Four packages turned up on Friday, the 14th addressed to another wealthy contributor to the Democratic Party and liberal causes, Tom Steyer. That parcel was found at a post office outside San Francisco.

Each consisted of explosive material packed in a plastic pipe and wired to a small clock and a battery, Wray said. He said investigators had yet to determine whether the bombs were actually "functional," but the devices could be dangerous "if subjected to the right combination of heat or shock or friction."

All were sent through the U.S. Postal Service system and intercepted before reaching their intended targets without exploding. No one has been hurt.

Bomb experts have said that based on the rudimentary construction of the devices, they appeared more likely designed to sow fear than to kill.

According to CNN, Sayoc told investigators the bombs would have done no injury and that he would not have wanted anyone hurt. Wray declined to say whether the suspect was cooperating with authorities after his arrest.

He told the news conference that fingerprints on one of two packages sent to U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, a Los Angeles Democrat, belonged to Sayoc.

The bombs have heightened tensions during what was already a highly contentious campaign season ahead of the Nov. 6 elections in which Democrats are battling to seize control of Congress now held by Trump's Republican Party.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan charged Sayoc with five felony counts, including interstate transportation and illegal mailing of explosives, threatening a former president, making threatening interstate communications and assaulting federal officers.

If convicted on all charges, Sayoc would face up to 48 years in prison, officials said.

"We will not tolerate such lawlessness, especially political violence," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a press conference announcing the charges.

Announcing the arrest to a cheering audience at the White House, Trump said such "terrorizing acts" were despicable and had no place in the United States.

"We must never allow political violence to take root in America - cannot let it happen," Trump said. "And I'm committed to doing everything in my power as president to stop it and to stop it now."

A native of New York City's Brooklyn borough and a registered Republican, Sayoc's home address was listed in public records as an upscale, gated apartment complex in the seaside town of Aventura, Florida.

Apart from the right-wing imagery pasted on his van, Sayoc's political leanings were evident on social media. His Facebook and Twitter accounts were filled with posts railing against Democrats and liberals, including one anti-Soros tweet published two days before a bomb showed up at the financier's home.

Public records show numerous arrests over the years for domestic violence, theft and other charges, including the alleged bomb threat against a utility company.

Sayoc was initially held at an FBI processing centre in Miramar, Florida. He was expected to be taken to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami and will likely make his first appearance before a judge on Monday, according to former Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weinstein.

In addition to Steyer, the intended recipients of packages discovered on Friday included Democratic U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Democratic U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California.

Hours after a federal law enforcement official said the investigation's focus on Florida had intensified, police closed roads around the parking lot of an AutoZone store in Plantation where Sayoc was arrested and helicopters flew overhead.

Investigators covered Sayoc's van with a blue tarp before removing it on a truck.

All the people targeted by the suspicious packages have been maligned by right-wing critics. In addition to Obama, Clinton, Soros and Waters, packages that surfaced earlier in the week were addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder, actor Robert De Niro and former CIA director John Brennan. His package was delivered to the Manhattan bureau of CNN, where he had served as an on-air analyst.

The episode has sparked an outcry from Trump's critics charging that his inflammatory rhetoric against perceived enemies among Democrats and the press has fostered a climate ripe for politically motivated violence.

Trump's supporters have accused Democrats in turn of unfairly suggesting that the president was to blame for the bomb scares.

"If we don't stop this political mania, this fervour, rancour, hatred, you'll see this again and again and again," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told MSNBC. "We have to get to the genesis, and the genesis is an overheated, vitriolic political division in this country and it starts with the leaders, and it starts with the president."

After first calling for unity at the White House event, Trump lamented partisan attacks against him and again pointed at the media.

"I get attacked all the time ... I can do the greatest thing for our country, and on the networks and on different things it will show bad," he told the crowd, acknowledging an attendee who shouted "fake news."

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.</s>(CNN) -- BREAKING NEWS 10:55 A.M. ET: Federal authorities have arrested a man in connection to the suspected explosive packages discovered this week, multiple law enforcement sources tell CNN.

ORIGINAL STORY: Authorities have intercepted suspicious packages intended for Sen. Cory Booker and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, authorities said Friday.

The packages are the latest to be sent to prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump that were discovered earlier this week.

The FBI said Friday that the package addressed to Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, was discovered in Florida and is "similar in appearance to the others." Sources told CNN the package was addressed to the senator's Camden, New Jersey, office. Booker confirmed the package was intended for him but declined to comment further to CNN.

The package intended for Clapper also was addressed to CNN, a law enforcement official said. It was found at a New York City postal facility and was similar to the other packages, the official added.

The package arrived in a manila envelope with six US flag stamps, similar to other packages discovered this week. The return address is that of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Florida office, which was the address on packages intended for former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, billionaire and Democratic donor George Soros, actor Robert De Niro, former Attorney General Eric Holder, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former CIA Director John Brennan. There is no information that suggests Wasserman Schultz sent the packages.

Trump was being briefed on the latest developments Friday morning, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. As the situation unfolded, the President tweeted about illegal immigration, a key campaign issue he's highlighted ahead of the midterm elections.

On Thursday, two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told CNN that the nationwide manhunt for the person or people who sent the potential bombs has led authorities to a mail facility in Opa-locka, Florida.

Law enforcement authorities are treating the bombs as a domestic terror matter. The motive is unknown, but the recipients are all prominent targets of right-wing criticism and, in many cases, of Trump himself.

Speaking at the Justice Department Friday morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said various agencies, including the FBI and Secret Service, were "working tirelessly" to investigate the packages.

"I can tell you this: we will find the person -- persons responsible, and we're going to bring them to justice," Sessions said. A Justice official told CNN that Sessions canceled a trip to Louisiana scheduled for Friday to ensure that all resources, such as his plane and personnel required for his travel, would be available for the ongoing investigation.

Clapper, who has frequently criticized Trump, vowed to CNN Friday morning that he wouldn't be intimidated in light of the discovery.

"I do want to just echo one thing that John Brennan said and that this is not going to silence the administration's critics," Clapper said.

This story is breaking and will be updated.</s>A van covered in blue tarp is towed by FBI investigators on October 26, 2018, in Plantation, Florida, in connection with the 12 suspicious packages mailed to top Democrats.

A 56-year-old Florida man is in custody and is expected to be charged in connection with a sweeping investigation of the 12 bomb-like devices addressed to prominent Democrats, according to the Department of Justice and an unnamed official.

Law enforcement officials identified the man as Cesar Sayoc, who was born in Brooklyn, New York. Records show Sayoc has a criminal history, including a 2015 arrest in Broward County, Florida, for petty theft and probation violation.

The total number of devices reached a dozen Friday after two more suspicious packages were recovered, one in Florida addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and the other in New York addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

A package addressed to Clapper was recovered at a Manhattan postal facility. Like some of the previous packages addressed to prominent Democrats, the one found in New York City on Friday had the office of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the return address, a photo obtained by CBS News showed.

The nation has been on heightened alert in the wake of bomb-like devices addressed to top government officials, including former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden.

The suspicious package intended for Clapper was spotted by a postal worker at the Radio City Station postal facility at around 8:15 a.m. Realizing the package looked like the previous ones found this week, the employee contacted U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and they contacted the NYPD and FBI.

NYPD Bomb Squad officers scanned the package and saw what appeared to be a pipe bomb, similar to the others recovered this week, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said at a Manhattan news conference.

The bomb squad relocated the package in its total containment vessel to the NYPD facility at Rodman's Neck in the Bronx. After being secured there, the package will be sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, Miller said.

When the package was initially discovered, NYPD closed a Manhattan intersection to traffic and pedestrians. The NYPD told the public to avoid the area near W. 52nd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues as police investigated.

The device addressed to Booker was recovered at a mail sorting distribution center in Opa Locka, Florida, which has drawn intense investigative interest in recent days, as authorities believe that many of the suspected explosive devices passed through the state, a law enforcement official said.

Investigators are continuing to review mail streams in and out of Florida, attempting to pinpoint locations where the parcels may have originated, said the official who is not authorized to comment publicly.

Sen. Booker, a likely presidential contender in 2020, had no public events scheduled Friday. When contacted for comment, his office directed calls to law enforcement, citing the ongoing investigation.

On Wednesday, after news of the initial wave of packages broke, Booker, 49, tweeted: "These targeted acts of terror are despicable cowardice."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions cancelled a planned trip to Louisville, Kentucky, Friday to ensure that all federal law enforcement resources, including the aircraft and personnel required for the attorney general's travel, were being devoted to the investigation.

Sessions was scheduled to speak in Louisville about the federal government's efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

"I can assure you that we are dedicating every available resource to this effort," Sessions said Friday before addressing a conference in Washington. "I am receiving frequent updates from (FBI) Director Chris Wray and his team. And I can tell you this: we will find the person or persons responsible. We will bring them to justice."

In New York, police have investigated multiple unattended packages in recent days and are urging the public to report anything that could be deemed dangerous.

On Thursday, the NYPD Bomb Squad handled multiple unattended packages inside a mall at 10 Columbus Circle before declaring the area safe. Police urged the public to "say something if you see something," in a tweet.

New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill said in a news conference earlier Thursday that the devices were not being treated as a hoax, describing them as "suspected explosive devices."

The powder found in packaging in New York addressed to CNN's offices wasn’t a biological weapon, but further testing was being done, O’Neill said. The devices were being examined at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.

FBI Assistant Director Bill Sweeney on Thursday said the investigation is nationwide and noted that more devices could be discovered. “It does remain possible that further packages have been or could be mailed," he said. "These devices should be considered dangerous.”

Kevin Barry, a former member of New York Police Department's bomb squad and a former director of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, expected the FBI analyses to be focused on both the design and recovery of physical evidence.

Testing would gauge the functionality of the devices, check the type of pipe used and examine the powder to determine whether it is high explosive, low explosive or a chemical substance intended to be dispersed when the devices were triggered, Barry said.

More: Authorities eye Florida in hunt for source of suspicious packages, as security officials worry danger 'not over'

More: Another two potential bombs found: What we know now about the 12 suspicious packages

Contributing: Herb Jackson, Hannan Adely and Phaedra Trethan for the USA TODAY Network</s>PLANTATION, Fla. (Reuters) - FBI agents used DNA and a fingerprint to identify the Florida man suspected of sending at least 14 bombs to critics of U.S. President Donald Trump days ahead of congressional elections.

Cesar Sayoc has been charged with five federal crimes including threats against former presidents and faces up to 48 years in prison if found guilty, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. He earlier said the suspect could face 58 years.

“We will not tolerate such lawlessness, especially political violence,” he said.

Authorities are still investigating whether other people were involved and did not rule out the possibility of further arrests or more explosive devices in the mail.

FBI agents arrested Sayoc, 56, in Plantation, Florida and also hauled away a white van plastered with pro-Trump stickers, the slogan “CNN SUCKS” and images of Democratic figures with red crosshairs over their faces.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told the news conference that fingerprints on a package sent to Representative Maxine Waters belonged to Sayoc.

He also said there could be other packages.

Announcing the arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to a cheering audience at the White House, Trump said such “terrorizing acts” were despicable and had no place in the United States.

“We must never allow political violence to take root in America - cannot let it happen,” Trump said. “And I’m committed to doing everything in my power as president to stop it and to stop it now.”

Sayoc’s home address was listed in public records as an upscale gated apartment complex in the seaside town of Aventura, Florida.

According to the records, he is a registered Republican with a lengthy criminal past - including once making a bomb threat - and a history of posting inflammatory broadsides on social media against Trump’s political foes.

Sayoc was being held at an FBI processing center in Miramar, Florida, CNN said. He was expected to be taken to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami and will likely make his first appearance before a judge on Monday, according to former Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weinstein.

A federal law enforcement source said charges would likely be brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Sayoc transferred to New York City.

Four more suspicious packages were found on Friday, according to officials and media reports, bringing the total to 14. None of the devices has detonated, and no injuries have been reported.

The intended recipients of packages discovered on Friday included Democratic U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Democratic U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California and Democratic donor Tom Steyer.

Hours after a federal law enforcement official said the investigation’s focus on Florida had intensified, police closed roads around the parking lot of an AutoZone store in Plantation where Sayoc was arrested, and helicopters flew overhead.

Investigators covered Sayoc’s van with a blue tarp before removing it on a truck.

All the people targeted by the suspicious packages have been maligned by right-wing critics. Packages that surfaced earlier in the week were addressed to Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, billionaire Democratic Party donor George Soros, Representative Maxine Waters, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan and actor Robert De Niro.

Trump’s critics charged that his inflammatory rhetoric against Democrats and the press created a climate for politically motivated violence. Tensions are running high ahead of Nov. 6 elections that could shift the balance of power in Congress, which is currently controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans.

“If we don’t stop this political mania, this fervor, rancor, hatred, you’ll see this again and again and again,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told MSNBC. “We have to get to the genesis, and the genesis is an overheated, vitriolic political division in this country and it starts with the leaders, and it starts with the president.”

Trump’s supporters accused Democrats of unfairly suggesting the president was to blame for the bomb scare.

After first calling for unity at the White House event, Trump lamented attacks against him and again pointed at the media.

“I get attacked all the time ... I can do the greatest thing for our country, and on the networks and on different things it will show bad,” he told the crowd, acknowledging an attendee who shouted “fake news.”</s>Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

WASHINGTON — A suspicious package addressed to Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and similar to crude pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of President Donald Trump, was recovered Friday in Florida, the FBI said.

Another addressed to Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also has been discovered.

None of the devices have exploded. The FBI is doing a nationwide manhunt for whoever is sending the pipe bomb packages, and officials are trying to determine if the sender or senders was trying to sow fear or actually cause physical destruction.

Early Friday, the FBI tweeted that it “has confirmed an 11th package has been recovered in Florida, similar in appearance to the others, addressed to Sen. Cory Booker.”

Booker is a potential 2020 presidential contender. Devices have also been sent to former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and CNN.

Clapper said he is not surprised he has been targeted with a suspicious package.

Clapper told CNN Friday morning that the devices sent to prominent critics of President Donald Trump in recent days were “definitely domestic terrorism.”

Two officials told the AP that a package was discovered at a postal facility in Midtown Manhattan. One official said it was addressed to Clapper. The officials weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Clapper described the situation as “serious,” but said it is “not going to silence the administration’s critics.”

Clapper stressed that he did not want to suggest any direct link between Trump’s past rhetoric and the packages. But he said Trump should bear responsibility for the “coarseness and uncivility of the dialogue in this country.”

At a press conference Thursday, officials in New York would not discuss possible motives or details on how the packages found their way into the U.S. postal system. Nor would they say why none of the packages had detonated, but they stressed they were still treating them as “live devices.”

“As far as a hoax device, we’re not treating it that way,” police Commissioner James O’Neill said.

Details suggested a pattern — that the items were packaged in manila envelopes, addressed to prominent Trump critics and carried U.S. postage stamps. The devices were being examined by technicians at the FBI’s forensic lab in Quantico, Virginia.

The packages stoked nationwide tensions and fears as voters prepared to vote Nov. 6 to determine partisan control of Congress — a campaign both major political parties have described in near-apocalyptic terms. Even with the sender still unknown, politicians from both parties used the threats to decry a toxic political climate and lay blame.

“A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News,” Trump said on Twitter. “It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”</s>A 56-year-old Florida man faces five federal charges in connection with a sweeping investigation of at least 13 improvised explosive devices addressed to prominent Democrats and their supporters, Department of Justice officials said Friday.

Law enforcement officials identified the man as Cesar Sayoc, who was born in Brooklyn, New York. Records show Sayoc has a criminal history dating back nearly three decades, including a 2015 arrest in Broward County, Florida, for petty theft and probation violation.

Sayoc was charged with five federal crimes, including interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of an explosive and threats against former presidents.

Sayoc was arrested near an auto store in Plantation, Florida. Police examined a white van shrouded in stickers, covered the vehicle with a blue tarp and took it away on the back of a flatbed truck. The stickers included images of President Donald Trump, American flags and what appeared to be logos of the Republican National Committee and CNN, though not all the images were clear.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said a fingerprint recovered from an envelope mailed to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters matched Sayoc's fingerprint.

Wray said investigators tracked more than a dozen devices mailed to high-profile Democrats and their supporters that all were similar. Each mailed device included six inches of PVC pipe, a small clock, battery, wiring and potentially explosive material designed to give out heat and energy.

"These are not hoax devices," Wray said.

When asked why the suspect seemed to target Democrats, Attorney General Sessions said, "I don't know." He said he could not comment on the suspect's motive.

Earlier Friday, Trump applauded the suspect's arrest, calling it "an incredible job" by law enforcement. The bombing attempts were "despicable" and have "no place in our country," Trump said during an event for African-American Republicans at the White House.

“We must never allow political violence take root in America," Trump said, and "I’m committed to doing everything in my power to stop it."

The total number of bombs reached at least 13 Friday after three more suspicious packages were recovered, one in Florida addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, another in New York addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and a device recovered at Sen. Kamala Harris’ office in Sacramento, California.

Harris’ office says it was informed that the package was identified at a Sacramento mail facility. The FBI responded to the facility in a South Sacramento neighborhood that’s been blocked off by caution tape.

A package addressed to Clapper was recovered at a Manhattan postal facility. Like some of the previous packages, the one found in New York City on Friday had the office of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the return address, a photo obtained by CBS News showed.

The nation has been on heightened alert in the wake of the mail bombs sent to Trump critics, including the residences of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

The suspect in the mail bomb investigation has been identified as Cesar Sayoc.

Records show that Sayoc has a history of arrests dating back to at least the early 1990s. He also had financial troubles, filing for personal bankruptcy in Florida in 2012 during the Great Recession.

In 2002, Sayoc was charged with threatening to “throw, project, place, or discharge any destructive device," according to online court records from Miami-Dade County.

More recently, Sayoc was arrested in May 2015 and later convicted of theft, according to court records. West Palm Beach Police reported that he stole a briefcase and a garment bag from Walmart.

Sayoc's estimated his monthly income at $923 after payroll deductions and monthly expenses at $1,070. He collected unemployment compensation in 2009, 2010 and 2012, according to the bankruptcy filing.

The suspicious package intended for Clapper was spotted by a postal worker at the Radio City Station postal facility at around 8:15 a.m. Realizing the package looked like the previous ones found this week, the employee contacted U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and they contacted the NYPD and FBI.

NYPD Bomb Squad officers scanned the package and saw what appeared to be a pipe bomb, similar to the others recovered this week, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said at a Manhattan news conference.

The bomb squad relocated the package in its total containment vessel to the NYPD facility at Rodman's Neck in the Bronx. After being secured there, the package will be sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, Miller said.

The device addressed to Booker was recovered at a mail sorting distribution center in Opa Locka, Florida, which has drawn intense investigative interest in recent days, as authorities believe that many of the suspected explosive devices passed through the state, a law enforcement official said.

Investigators are continuing to review mail streams in and out of Florida, attempting to pinpoint locations where the parcels may have originated, said the official who is not authorized to comment publicly.

In New York, police have investigated multiple unattended packages in recent days and are urging the public to report anything that could be deemed dangerous.

The powder found in packaging in New York addressed to CNN's offices wasn’t a biological weapon, but further testing was being done, O’Neill said. The devices were examined at the FBI lab in Virginia.

FBI Assistant Director Bill Sweeney on Thursday said the investigation is nationwide and noted that more devices could be discovered. “It does remain possible that further packages have been or could be mailed," he said. "These devices should be considered dangerous.”

Wray echoed those sentiments Friday. "Today's arrest doesn't mean we are out of the woods."

Contributing: Herb Jackson, Hannan Adely and Phaedra Trethan for the USA TODAY Network
The FBI has confirmed that packages similar to those found earlier this week were sent to U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris.