Suspicious device sent to actor Robert De Niro in New York City, police say

A suspicious device was sent to actor Robert De Niro in New York City, WCBS-TV reported, citing sources, and police are investigating.

A package addressed to De Niro was sent to a Greenwich Street building he owns that houses offices for Tribeca Films and Tribeca Grill, WNBC-TV reported, citing law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement officials gather near the scene of where a suspicious device was found early Thursday morning at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Grill restaurant in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A building worker called police early Thursday after seeing news about suspicious devices sent to political figures and then remembering spotting a similar package in recent days, WNBC said.

Police said the package had been delivered either Tuesday or Wednesday, WCBS said.

The New York Police Department bomb disposal squad removed the package, WCBS added, and it was transported to the Bronx for inspection.

No evacuation of the property was ordered, WNBC reported, noting the building was unoccupied.

The package De Niro received matched photos that the NYPD distributed Wednesday as part of its investigation, WCBS said.

What related incidents have occurred?

Other devices were sent to former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, left-wing billionaire financier George Soros, and CNN's New York City office.

De Niro has been a vocal — and often profane — critic of President Donald Trump:

• The legendary actor walked onstage at the Tony Awards in June, raised his fists, and told the crowd, “I’m gonna say one thing: F*** Trump. It’s no longer, ‘Down with Trump,' it’s ‘F*** Trump.” Many in the audience laughed and gave De Niro a standing ovation.

Robert De Niro speaks onstage during the 72nd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 10, 2018, in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

• De Niro announced in May that he banned Trump from Nobu — the high-end sushi restaurant and hotel chain De Niro founded with acclaimed Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
• The actor took the stage on the closing night of his Tribeca Film Festival in April and blasted Trump — as well as Republicans — with expletives.
• “I’m not so much concerned about Republicans believing Trump’s bellowing bulls**t about fake news,” De Niro said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “They’re not that stupid, most of them, but they’re pretty f***ing stupid.”
• At the start of the film festival, De Niro told journalists that “America is being run by a mad man” and compared Trump to “Colonel Sanders’ fried chicken,” IndieWire reported.
• De Niro also called Trump a “scumbag” earlier in April during an interview about the festival.
• And a month prior to the 2016 presidential election De Niro called Trump “a punk, he’s a dog, he’s a pig, he’s a con, a bulls**t artist, a mutt who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”