MIAMI – The attorney for a South Florida man accused of sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump said his client waived his right to a pre-trial detention hearing in Miami.
Cesar Sayoc was in the district courtroom Friday morning, but did not speak as his attorneys waived his detention hearing.
He will remain in jail for now and will be transferred to New York to face federal charges, attorney Jamie Benjamin said.
"We felt it more appropriate for the lawyers that are going to represent him in the long run to make the analysis and determination to decide what they want to do for the best interest of Mr. Sayoc," Benjamin said.
In a letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman wrote that Cesar Sayoc is a danger to the community, saying there is "powerful proof that the defendant perpetrated these acts."
Berman also warned that the 56-year-old Aventura man is a flight risk, asking Torres to deny bail ahead of Friday's pre-trial detention hearing.
File: Letter to judge asking for no bond for Cesar Sayoc
The letter said Sayoc was estranged from his mother and living out of a van that was plastered with pro-Trump and other political stickers.
Sayoc is accused of mailing 15 improvised explosive devices to numerous Democrats, Trump critics and media outlets.
None of the bombs exploded, and no one was injured. Still, Sayoc faces nearly 50 years in prison if convicted on five federal charges, which were filed in New York.
Berman's letter said forensic evidence found on Sayoc's laptop shows that he researched his targets, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Several package bombs were found in New York, as well as other locations.
The timing of Sayoc's transfer from Miami to New York is unclear.