Attorney General Pam Bondi accuses 3 Tesla vandals of ‘domestic terrorism’ after string of attacks
Three people accused of destroying Tesla cars and charging stations are facing up to 20 years in prison for “domestic terrorism,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday.
“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said in a statement.
“Let this be a warning: If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars,” she added.
The defendants — whose cases are being brought in Colorado, Oregon and South Carolina — are accused of using high-powered weapons and explosives to destroy property belonging to the Elon Musk-owned car company, which has been targeted in recent weeks over his role in the Trump administration.
In Oregon, Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, allegedly carried a suppressed AR-15 rifle while lobbing eight Molotov cocktails at a Salem Tesla dealership Jan. 20. Almost exatly one month later, on Feb. 19, investigators say Lansky returned to the dealership and shot out one of the windows and fired bullets into a car, according to Fox12.
Lansky is charged with unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm.
In Colorado, Lucy Grace Nelson, 40, is charged with malicious destruction of property after allegedly trying to light Tesla cars on fire at a dealership in Loveland, 45 miles north of Denver.
Investigators say Nelson spray-painted “Nazi cars” across the vehicles before tossing Molotov cocktails at them. She was released on $100,000 bond a day after her arrest in February.
Finally, Daniel Clarke-Pounder, 24, is accused of arson of property in interstate commerce after he allegedly vandalized Tesla charging stations in Charleston, SC earlier this month with profane anti-Trump rhetoric, then torched them.
Here are the latest instances of Tesla vehicles getting vandalized
- Attorney General Pam Bondi accuses 3 Tesla vandals of ‘domestic terrorism’ after string of attacks
- Teslas torched in video at Las Vegas service center in suspected anti-Elon Musk protest
- Hapless anti-Musk activist sets himself on fire after attacking Tesla charging station
- The five leftist groups protesting Elon Musk – one of which received $7.6M from George Soros
- 4 Tesla Cybertrucks torched as protests against Elon Musk rev up
According to authorities, Clarke-Pounder scrawled “F— Trump” and “Long live the Ukraine” across the charging stations before throwing five Molotov cocktails at them, with one of the homemade bombs lighting the suspect on fire before he put himself out.
Each faces a minimum of five years in prison if convicted, but the charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years.
Despite Bondi’s rhetoric, none of the standing charges qualify as “domestic terrorism,” and it is unclear whether the AG will elevate them.
President Trump has been outspoken about hunting down the people targeting Teslas across the country – and has called them domestic terrorists when speaking about them.
“I’m going to stop them,” the president said March 11 after buying a Tesla himself to show support for Musk and the company. “We’re going to catch them, they’re bad guys.”
“We’re going to catch you, and you’re going to go through hell,” he added.
