Twitter 'deeply sorry' for error on Sayoc tweet

The Latest on pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of President Donald Trump (all times local) — 10:30 AM. Twitter is apologising for refusing to take down a threatening tweet that pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc sent to a former Democratic congressional press secretary earlier this month.

The tweet that Rochelle Ritchie complained about said, "Hug your loved ones real close every time you leave home.” She got it after an appearance on Fox News, and complained. Twitter responded on October 11 that the tweet did not violate its rules against abusive behaviour.

On October 26 night, after Sayoc’s arrest for allegedly sending at least 13 mail bombs to prominent Democrats, Twitter issued a statement saying it had made a mistake. It said it was “deeply sorry,” that the tweet clearly violated its rules and should have been removed. The company had by then disabled Sayoc’s account.

In arresting a Florida man suspected of sending at least 13 mail bombs to prominent Democrats, Justice Department officials credited DNA, a fingerprint match and misspellings for the key break in the case.

Cesar Sayoc, of Aventura, Florida, faces five federal charges in connection with the mail bomb plot that spurred a weeklong, coast-to-coast investigation and spread fear of election-season violence with little precedent in the US.

Sayoc will make his first court appearance next week, where additional details may be revealed about a motive. In the meantime, Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested that politics may have played a role and noted that Sayoc appeared to be a “partisan.” Those who saw him in the Florida neighbourhood, unmistakable in a white van plastered with Trump’s image and political stickers, described him as unsettling and troubled.