Explosive device found near George Soros' home

[NEW YORK] An explosive device was found on Monday in a mailbox at the Westchester County home of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist who is a favorite target of right-wing groups, authorities said.

A law enforcement official confirmed that the device was found near Soros' home. It did not explode on its own, and bomb squad technicians "proactively detonated" it, the official said.

Federal and state law enforcement officials responded to the scene in Katonah, New York, a hamlet in the upscale town of Bedford in northern Westchester, after the Bedford Police Department received a call about a suspicious package at about 3:45pm.

"An employee of the residence opened the package, revealing what appeared to be an explosive device," police said in a statement. "The employee placed the package in a wooded area and called the Bedford police."

Mr Soros was not home at the time.

Police said they had turned the case over to the FBI, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr Soros, who was born in Hungary, made his fortune running a hedge fund and is now a full-time philanthropist and political activist. He donates frequently to Democratic candidates and progressive causes and has given at least US$18 billion to his Open Society Foundations to promote democracy and human rights around the world.

His activism has made him a villain to conservative groups and the target of anti-Semitic smears. Roseanne Barr called him a Nazi in an infamous tweetstorm, and Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, falsely speculated that Soros had funded a caravan of migrants moving north toward Mexico.

NYTIMES