A lawyer for the family of Cesar Sayoc Jr., the man charged with mailing explosive devices to several prominent Democratic figures this week, said Friday that Sayoc “found a father” in President Trump.

Miami lawyer Ronald Lowy made the comments on CNN while discussing the arrest of Sayoc, someone he said he had represented in past cases and whom he described as a “sick individual” who seemed “lost” and needed help.

“He was looking for anything, and he found a father in Trump,” Lowy said, noting that the man’s father “abandoned him as a child” and “he was trying to create an identity.”{mosads}

Lowy said that he believes Sayoc was attracted to Trump’s messaging, which included reaching out to “outsiders” and “people who are angry at America.”

He added that he doesn’t blame the president solely for the attempted attacks.

The Justice Department announced earlier Friday that it had arrested and charged Sayoc, a 56-year-old resident of Aventura, Fla., with five federal crimes for allegedly sending explosives to more than a dozen Democratic figures including former President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Sayoc faces up to 48 years in prison.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said during a press conference that the suspect in connection with the crimes appeared to be a “partisan.”

Sayoc was taken into custody on Friday along with a white van that was draped in political stickers, including one that read “CNN sucks.”

The suspect’s Twitter and Facebook pages were filled with pro-Trump and anti-Democratic content. He posted a large amount of hoaxes, including memes that alleged prominent Democratic donor George Soros was behind movements against conservative interests.

CNN on Friday also uncovered footage from 2017 showing Sayoc at a Trump rally holding an anti-CNN sign.

The packages sent this week led to bipartisan calls to tone down what has become increasingly hostile political rhetoric.

Trump on Wednesday called for national unity in response to the incidents but has also argued that news media have a role in the current political discourse.

He accused the news media at a rally in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday of trying to use the events earlier in the day to “score political points” against him and the Republican Party.