Feds focus mail-bomb investigation on Florida, two other states

A federal investigation into crudely made pipe bombs sent through the U.S. mail to prominent Democratic figures is focusing on Florida, New York and Maryland, law enforcement sources familiar with the probe said Thursday.

The FBI-led counter-terrorism investigation is zeroing in on whether a series of suspicious packages were mailed this week from Florida and the other states to at least 10 Democratic targets, including Hillary Clinton’s New York home.

The Sunrise congressional office of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz also received one of the packages on Wednesday, according to the FBI. But it was delivered there because her office was listed as the return address on a package that had been originally sent to the home of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in the Washington, D.C., area.

U.S. postal inspectors in Florida and the other states are combing databases to see if there are any other suspicious packages en route to more potential political targets.

The bombs, made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape, were about six inches long and packed with powder and broken glass, said a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images and spoke on condition of anonymity, according to the Associated Press. The explosive devices also contained a small battery.

Federal sources told the Miami Herald that they were poorly made and posed no threat.

“The way they were constructed they were not going to go off,” one law enforcement source told the Herald. “You could not compare then to the Boston Marathon bomber.”

The White House condemned the attacks aimed at Democrats and other perceived foes of the administration.

“Acts or threats of political violence have no place in the United States,” Trump said. “This egregious conduct is abhorrent.”