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Another suspicious package sent to CNN 3 days after suspect's arrest

A new suspicious package, similar to previous mail bombs sent to various politicians and media figures over the last week, has been intercepted while addressed to CNN's worldwide headquarters in Atlanta, only three days after alleged culprit Cesar Sayoc was arrested.

According to Qods News Agency (Qodsna) quoting the Atlanta Police Department, a downtown Atlanta post office was evacuated and surrounding streets were closed off after officers responded to a call about a suspicious package at 9:38 am local time.

 

The package was investigated by a bomb squad dispatched to the site and is to be sent to an FBI laboratory for further analysis.

 

Furthermore, the suspicious parcel prompted CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker to relieve staffers in a Monday morning memo, declaring that the package "was intercepted at an Atlanta post office," and that "there is no imminent danger to the CNN Center." 

 

The news of the newly intercepted package comes as US authorities had warned a day after Sayoc's arrest that more explosive devices may "have been or could be mailed" to future targets.

 

Sayoc appeared in court for his first hearing, facing numerous federal charges and up to 48 years in prison. 

 

Sayoc was arrested in the State of Florida on Friday for allegedly sending more than a dozen parcel bombs over the last week to high-profile Democrats and critics of the Republican president, Donald Trump

The homemade bombs and other suspected explosive devices are known to have been addressed to former US President Barack Obama, ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and a litany of figures loathed by Trump's far-right supporters.

 

Observers, nonetheless, believe the highly trivialized mail bomb plot to have become part of the bigger political debate for the upcoming midterm elections.

 

Many left-leaning figures have blamed Trump's political rhetoric as a leading cause for the ordeal, while some right-wing commentators have described it as an orchestrated attempt to sway public opinion against Trump.