Packages to Biden, De Niro seized, similar to earlier bombs
1
NEW YORK: A total of ten packages sent to opponents of President Donald Trump were discovered by the US law-enforcement authorities.
Police in New York City removed on Thursday a suspicious package sent to a building owned by actor Robert De Niro, while authorities were investigating a package found at a Delaware mail facility that was addressed to former vice president Joseph Biden.
The package to actor De Niro was sent to the Greenwich Street headquarters of the actor’s Tribeca Enterprises venture, adding to the pattern of explosive devices discovered on Wednesday at CNN and others sent to the homes of prominent Democrats including former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and CNN.
Others were directed to Republican Maxine Waters and George Soros, a major Democratic donor.
Police removed the package sent to De Niro before sunrise, according to local media reports.
In a statement, De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises said the building in the high traffic area of Lower Manhattan will remain open.
“A suspicious package was received. We called the police. They took it out and went through all safety procedures. It was addressed to Robert De Niro and is similar packaging to the others. It is an open investigation. Everyone is safe and the building is open,” Tribeca said.
The Associated Press reported that a package was found at a Delaware mail facility that bore similarities to the others and was intended for Biden, but it was misaddressed.
As reports of the packages were surfacing on Thursday, Biden, a potential 2020 presidential contender, wrote on Twitter, “This country has to come together. This division, this hatred, this ugliness has to end.”
The flurry of mail bomb activity has sparked the creation of a federal task force to hunt for the source of the packages. The FBI, which is leading the investigation through its counter-terrorism division, warned in Wednesday that “We will bring them to justice,” President Trump said during a rally in Wisconsin.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2018
Download the new Dawn mobile app here:
