A DONALD Trump-loving former male stripper with a bulky criminal record was charged over sending pipe bombs to senior Democrats and broadcaster CNN during a five-day spree that sparked terror across America.

The so-called “MAGA-bomber” was identified as loner Cesar Altier Sayoc, 56, through a single fingerprint he left on one 14 mail bombs sent to former US presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and wife Hillary, and a slew of elite liberal figures including Hollywood actor Robert de Niro.

Sayoc, 56, from Aventura, Florida, was arrested 32 kilometres away from his home at a business in Plantation.

He has been charged with five federal crimes, including illegal mailing of explosives, threatening two former US presidents, and assaulting federal officers, after FBI agents used DNA and fingerprints to identify him.

FBI director Chris Wray said a fingerprint on the package to Congresswoman Maxine Waters matched Sayoc’s. They were then able to locate him by using GPS on his mobile phone, which led to his arrest.

He said there could still be more devices out there, that they were not “hoax bombs” and warned the public to be vigilant.

After Sayoc was arrested, a van covered in pro-Trump bumper stickers was covered with a tarpaulin and taken to an FBI facility in Florida.

The stickers included slogans like “drain the swamp” and “CNN sucks”, as well as images of Hillary Clinton with a target on her face.

Sayoc’s tweets also accuse George Soros, one of the bomb targets, of paying off a victim of the Parkland mass shooting.

TRUMP REFUSES TO TAKE ‘BLAME’
His attacks came just over a week ahead of America’s midterm elections, ratcheting up the partisan divide and sparking a new blame game between both sides of US politics.

President Donald Trump insisted that while Sayoc - whose white van was plastered with pro-Trump stickers - was clearly a supporter, the Trump administration was not responsible for the attack.

“There is no blame,” Mr Trump said.

He also pointed out that a supporter of former Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders had attempted to massacre Republican figures at a Virginia baseball practice last year, almost killing House Majority leader Steve Scalise.

HOW ‘MAGABOMBER’ WAS ARRESTED
Sayoc was calm when he was arrested by FBI agents in South Florida early Friday, according to witnesses.

Former law enforcement officer Thomas Fiori said he heard a small explosion before agents swarmed an auto parts store outside of which Sayoc had parked his van. He said when Sayoc was approached by about 50 heavily armed officers, he “had that look of: ‘I’m done, I surrender’.”

Sayoc was last night revealed as a misfit and obsessive bodybuilder who had committed crimes long before he had become an unhinged advocate for Mr Trump.

Although he identified as being a member of the Seminole tribe in several threatening social media messages that came to light yesterday, a spokesperson for the Native American group said he was not related to them.

‘MAGABOMBER’S’ SECRET PAST AND WRAP SHEET
Criminal records reveal he was arrested in Miami in 2002 for threatening to throw a bomb and faced a string of theft, assault and fraud charges in following years.

Sayoc described himself as a “promoter, booking agent for live entertainment, owner and choreographer” on his LinkedIn page, and a former colleague from the male stripping circuit said he had struggled with his identity and frustration at not being able to make a career as a professional wrestler.

“He really couldn’t find his niche in life, and I guess he found it now,” Tony Valentine told the Washington Examiner.

“Back in the ‘90s, he was running around from Minnesota to the Carolinas to Florida. He was like a gypsy.

“He would just go do a strip show and leave. He was a stripper. He was dancing for a guy out in Oklahoma too.”

Sayoc first registered as a Republican in 2016 but had been a Trump supporter for at least the past three years, with documents released yesterday by Broward County authorities in Florida showing he had reported the theft in 2015 of more than $7,000 worth of Trump-branded clothing.

His white van was also covered in dozens of stickers supporting the president and Vice President Mike Pence and photographs were published yesterday showing him at Trump rallies.

Public records also reveal Sayoc filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2012 and his name is listed on business records tied to dry cleaning and catering businesses.

He registered as a Republican in Florida in 2016 and has since expressed his dislike of Hillary Clinton and posted stories about incidents of Islamic terrorism on his social media account, including disturbing images of dead bodies.

His Facebook account showed that he had more than 2500 “friends” but it was quickly taken down after he was arrested.

TRUMP FACES SOCIAL MEDIA FURY
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Sayoc faces up to 48 years in prison if convicted over five federal crimes including threats against a former president and interstate transportation of an explosive.

FBI director Christopher Wray said that Sayoc posed an immediate threat, although none of the bombs exploded and nobody was injured.

“Though we’re still analysing these devices in our laboratory, these were not hoax devices,” Mr Wray said.

Mr Trump drew criticism ahead of the arrest for social media posts that appeared to minimise the bomb threats and cast them as a distraction from solid Republican polling ahead of next month’s elections.

“Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, “it’s just not Presidential!”” Mr Trump tweeted at 3:14am local time on Friday.

In another, he said: “Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this “Bomb” stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics”.

MORE SUSPICIOUS PACKAGES EMERGE
Two packages were sent to Democratic Senator Kamala Harris and California billionaire Tom Steyer, a key Democrat donor.

The package to New Jersey Senator Booker was found in Florida, while another package was sent to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper care of CNN.

Senator Booker is seen as a potential candidate for the 2020 presidential election and Mr Clapper is among a number of former intelligence chiefs who have been harsh critics of Mr Trump since he took office — and who have been threatened with having their security clearances revoked by the president.

The four new packages are similar to the 10 packages sent earlier this week to the Clintons, the Obamas, Joe Biden, Robert De Niro, former CIA Director John Brennan (also care of CNN where he is a contributor), former Attorney-General Eric Holder, Democrat Maxine Waters and liberal philanthropist George Soros.

All packages had a return address of Debbie Wasserman Shultz, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, in Florida.

Double Oscar-winner and biting Trump critic De Niro urged people to vote in the midterms just one day after a device was discovered at the Manhattan offices of his production company.

“I thank God no one’s been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us,” he said.

“There’s something more powerful than bombs, and that’s your vote. People MUST vote!”

Mr Clapper described it as “domestic terrorism” on CNN, before hitting out at Mr Trump, saying he bore “some responsibility of civility in this country”.

“He needs to remember that his words count,” he said.

The packages were sent in manila envelopes with bubble wrap, marked with computer-printed address labels.

Ms Wasserman Schultz, who was listed as the sender with misspellings of her last name, told reporters in southern Florida that it was “devastating” and “deeply disturbing” to have had her name used.

“I’ve been told by the FBI that this is their highest priority and they’re on top of it,” she said.

Packages have been intercepted in New York, Maryland, Florida, Delaware and Los Angeles.

So far, no one has been hurt but the attempted bomb-spree has frayed nerves and raised tensions ahead of key midterm elections in less than two weeks.