NYC mayor calls live explosive device sent to CNN an 'act of terror'

• New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the live explosive package sent to the Time Warner Center building in Manhattan Wednesday an "act of terror."
• "This clearly was an act of terror attempting to undermine our free press and leaders of this country through acts of violence," de Blasio said during a press briefing Wednesday.
• The mayor's comments came after CNN was evacuated from the headquarters of its New York bureau in the Time Warner Center.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday called the live explosive package sent to the Time Warner Center building in Manhattan an "act of terror."

"This clearly was an act of terror attempting to undermine our free press and leaders of this country through acts of violence," de Blasio said during a press briefing. "I want to make very clear that the people in New York City will not be intimidated."

Mayor tweet

The mayor's comments came after CNN was evacuated from the headquarters of its New York bureau in the Time Warner Center.

The attack on CNN came alongside a string of apparently similar attacks on prominent targets of conservative criticism, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama, as well as the liberal billionaire George Soros.

De Blasio's remarks were echoed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said later in the briefing that "we will not allow these terrorist thugs to change the way we live our lives."

New York City Police Commissioner James ONeil, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo attend a news conference outside the Time Warner Building on October 24, 2018, after an explosive device was delivered to CNN's New York bureau.

Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

In addition to the live explosive device, law enforcement also recovered an envelope containing white powder that is now being examined, Police Commissioner James O'Neill said at the briefing.

Cuomo said that a package had also been found at his office in Manhattan, and that it was being "being handled as we speak." A NYPD spokesman said later in the day that the package sent to Cuomo was not a bomb, and was unrelated to the other devices, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said that a "preliminary investigation on the package at Governor Cuomo's office shows it is computer files on the hate group, The Proud Boys, who recently appeared in New York."

The mayor said that the city was not aware of any "credible and specific threats" against locations in New York City, and urged residents to go about their daily routine.

"We are going to go about our lives undeterred, because the very concept of terrorism is to change us and we will not allow that to happen," de Blasio said. "You cannot be terrorized if you refuse to allow the terrorists to win."