President Donald Trump on Friday said he was refusing to tone down his rhetoric despite the arrest earlier in the day of one of his supporters who was indicted for mailing pipe bombs to prominent critics of the administration.
CNN, one of the targets of the serial bomber known as the MAGABomber, required security to cover the commander-in-chief's Friday evening campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, The New York Timesreports.
"When Mr. Trump took the stage at the Bojangles’ Coliseum, hours after Cesar Sayoc Jr., a Florida man with a lengthy criminal record, was arrested in connection to sending the devices, chants of 'Build the wall' and 'CNN sucks' had already rung out repeatedly," The Times noted.
Sayoc had attended at least one of Trump's combative "Make America Great Again" rallies, where the suspected bomber waved a "CNN Sucks" sign.
"As they have for months, CNN journalists at the rally on Friday night worked alongside hired security guards," The Times reported.