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Twitter Admits It Should Have Policed Mail Bomb Suspect Cesar Sayoc's Account

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Twitter has acknowledged that it should have done a better job of policing the activity on the account of mail bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc.

The admission comes in response to an analysis by CNN reporters that found Sayoc made at least 240 threats against public figures on Twitter, including four against Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg.

Twitter says it will improve the reporting process of inappropriate tweets and will use new technology to detect abusive content.

Sayoc is accused of sending package bombs to at least 15 prominent Democrats and critics of President Trump. A letter obtained by CBS4 News from the U.S. Attorney's Office to the federal judge in Sayoc's case requests that he remain locked up while he awaits trial because of the threat he poses.

"The evidence of the defendant's terror campaign is still being collected but is already overwhelming. Because of the powerful proof that the defendant perpetrated these acts, he poses a substantial danger to the community. In light of the consequences at issue and the likelihood of conviction, the defendant is also a substantial flight risk. Therefore, pretrial detention is appropriate."

The hearing on Sayoc's bond will be held on Friday morning at 10 a.m. in Miami.

The letter also shares some of the information gleaned from searches of Sayoc's laptop, which was recovered from the sticker-covered van espousing hate and violence as well as his cell phone.

The letter says a search of the laptop reveals that Sayoc likely began planning his crimes in July due to the creation date of a file called "Debbie W.docx." The document also reveals that on September 18 Sayoc searched the web for "vice-president-joe-bidens-house- former/view" and that he also searched his victims and their families. Some of the searches listed are:

"george soros and family"

"hilary clinton and family"

"james clapper wife and kids"

"eric holder wife and kids"

"john brennan wife and kids"

Federal prosecutors say Sayoc's phone also contained photos of some of his victims along with photos that "purport to be the home of former President Obama, the home of former Vice President Biden, and a driver's license belonging to former First Lady Michelle Obama that includes another address."

The feds said that they linked Sayoc to the packages through a pair of fingerprints as well as DNA components found on 10 of bombs.

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