Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) spoke with Blavity at the monthly event Brunch 2 Bomb in Los Angeles. Waters shared her thoughts on 57-year-old Cesar Sayoc's guilty plea, appearing unphased by the incident.
Sayoc is the Florida man accused of sending pipe bombs to high-level Democratic officials such as Waters and former President Barack Obama. Thursday he pleaded guilty to 65 criminal counts, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Waters says this should be a lesson learned for potential copy cats.
“I hope he has learned his lesson. When you threaten an elected official — and you shouldn’t be threatening to kill anybody — you are going to get reported, they are going to find you, defeat you, and you are going to do some time,” Waters said. “This is not the first one but each [time] we have been able to [identify the purpertrators]. They have been convicted or they have been dealt with.”
Late 2018, when the incident occurred, Waters spoke with us saying she “ain’t scared,” and will continue her work to better the country. Those same sentiments were present during our Monday interview.
“I hope [Sayoc] knows from my public appearances that I’m not afraid,” Waters said. “I’m not hiding and he can’t get away with threatening me because just as he’s threatening me, the police are watching out and the FBI are watching out. He is right where he’s supposed to be.”
A second man, Steven Taubert, was found guilty by a grand jury on Wednesday, for sending terroristic, racist threats to Waters' office in California. The Associated Press reported Taubert's charges were from phone calls and racial slurs he made to Democratic Congressional offices. Taubert targeted Waters and every member on her staff, according to the publication.
They also report Taubert said in 2017 he was going to “hang” former President Obama. The AP says the jury reached the conclusion that Waters and Obama were targeted based on their race.
Now check these out:
Florida White Supremacist Allegedly Kidnapped, Drugged And Repeatedly Raped A Black Woman
Two White Supremacist Convicted For Threatening To Kill Rep. Maxine Waters
