How law enforcement nabbed the mail bomb suspect
Cesar Sayoc arrested in Florida in connection with the rash of suspicious packages sent to prominent Democrats; former N.Y. State Homeland Security Director Michael Balboni explains how the suspect was identified.
After the suspect in the mail bomb case allegedly threatened her in a tweet earlier this month, frequent Fox News guest and Democratic political strategist Rochelle Ritchie reported the harassment to Twitter -- but the social media giant reportedly dismissed her complaint, saying no rules were violated.
Rochelle Ritchie, a frequent Fox News guest and Democratic strategist, was threatened by the suspected mail bomber on Twitter earlier this month.
A Twitter account believed to belong to the suspect, Cesar Sayoc, tweeted at Ritchie on Oct. 11, identifying himself as being a Native American and warning her to "hug your loved ones real close."
“So you like make threats," Sayoc, using the name Cesar Altieri and the handle @hardrock2016, wrote. "We Unconquered Seminole Tribe will answer your threats. We have nice silent Air boat ride for u here on our land Everglades Swamp .We will see you 4 sure.Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave you home.”
Twitter has subsequently apologized for failing to take action.
In a statement they made via their @TwitterSafety handle, they said: "We made a mistake when Rochelle Ritchie first alerted us to the threat made against her. The Tweet clearly violated our rules and should have been removed. We are deeply sorry for that error."
In two further tweets, they wrote: "We are investigating what happened and will continue to work to improve how we handle concerns raised by anyone on Twitter.
"We want Twitter to be a place where people feel safe, and we know we have lot of work to do."
Ritchie told Fox News she was worried this "idiot" may not be acting alone after she re-read the statement.
“The thing that bothers me most about his tweet is that he says 'we’ instead of I which makes me worry there may be more people behind this act of domestic terrorism than we think,” she said.
Richie brought attention to Sayoc's purported tweet on Friday.
“Hey Twitter remember when I reported the guy who was making threats towards me after my appearance on Fox News and you guys sent back a BS response about how you didn’t find it that serious,” she tweeted, including a screenshot the Oct. 11 threat thread. “Well guess what it’s the guy who has been sending bombs to high profile politicians!!!!”
Four images were attached to the tweet, including a Seminoles Tribe flag, an image of a car with the chyron “body found in Everglades is missing 18-year-old,” and a split photo featuring three depictions of grim reapers with the word “death” on them.
“Threatening my life…bad idea,” Ritchie shot back before reporting him.
But Richie said Twitter responded, saying the account didn’t violate any rules. The email from Twitter was sent to Richie the same day she reported him, she told Fox News.
“We have reviewed your report carefully and found that there was no violation of the Twitter Rules against abusive behavior,” the response read, according to a screenshot.
"I’m very disappointed and frustrated that Twitter does not take these threats seriously,” Ritchie said. "It seems like they just don’t care. I know other commentators – whether you are Republican or Democrat – and they have reported them and they are not being taken care of."
Ritchie noted that though the packages did not make it into the hands of their intended recipients, they did reportedly pass through postal and courier services.
"I think people seem to forget that these packages are making it into the hands of innocent mail carriers and staffers," she said. "We have got to get it together because someone is going to get seriously hurt."
In a statement they made via their @TwitterSafety handle, they said: "We made a mistake when Rochelle Ritchie first alerted us to the threat made against her. The Tweet clearly violated our rules and should have been removed. We are deeply sorry for that error."
In two further tweets, they wrote: "We are investigating what happened and will continue to work to improve how we handle concerns raised by anyone on Twitter.
"We want Twitter to be a place where people feel safe, and we know we have lot of work to do."
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