Arrest Made in Connection With Suspicious Packages Sent to Robert De Niro, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama

Federal authorities arrested a man in Florida in connection with the suspicious packages containing explosive devices addressed to prominent politicians and media figures this week.

CNN reports that law enforcement sources say the arrest happened in South Florida. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department confirmed that a person was in custody and said more information would be released at a news conference later Friday, according to The Washington Post.

No other official information is known about the arrested man. CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton reports that a law enforcement source identified the suspect as a 56-year-old male. The source also said that DNA evidence on one of the devices played a part in leading investigators to the suspect.

The suspect was reportedly arrested at an auto repair shop in Plantation, Florida, CBS News reports.

Authorities had been pursuing a lead that some of the devices could have been mailed from South Florida. After news of the arrest broke, FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel could be seen in news footage draping a white van in a blue tarp in South Florida. Some of the fan’s windows were covered with stickers. Authorities reportedly seized the van.

A person familiar with the investigation told the Post that the man in custody lives in Florida near a facility which the packages were mailed through. It’s not clear if he acted alone or had help.

Officials were cautious Thursday and urged the public to call in with tips from anywhere despite a working theory that some of the devices may have been mailed from South Florida.

The arrest came after authorities responded to two more devices on Friday — one in New York City and one in Florida.

In a news conference Friday morning about the suspicious package found at a New York post office, John Miller, the New York Police Department Commissioner of Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, said a bomb was found inside a package addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and CNN.

The other package discovered Friday was addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and was found in Florida, the FBI said Friday morning.

That package is the twelfth suspicious package found this week. Other targets were Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and many others. None of the bombs have detonated, but many high profile politicians and organizations are alert.

President Trump tweeted that he will speak about the arrest during a scheduled appearance at the Young Black Leadership Summit on Friday.