DNA, fingerprints helped lead FBI to mail bomb suspect

WASHINGTON - A man with a criminal history and a fervor for President Donald Trump sent at least 13 mail bombs to prominent Democrats, Justice Department officials said, crediting DNA, a fingerprint match and misspellings for the key break in a case that spread fear of election-season violence with little precedent in the United States.

Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Florida, faces five federal charges in connection with a mail bomb plot that spurred a weeklong, coast-to-coast investigation that continued even after he was taken into custody on Friday as investigators scrutinized additional suspicious packages intended for Democrats.

Sayoc will make his first court appearance next week, where additional details may be revealed about a motive. In the meantime, Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested that politics may have played a role and noted that Sayoc appeared to be a "partisan". Those who saw him in the Florida neighborhood, unmistakable in a white van plastered with Trump's image and political stickers, described him as unsettling and troubled.