U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the attacks on Tesla property, calling the acts “domestic terrorism.”
“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences.”
“We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes,” she noted.
The statement comes as authorities are investigating what is believed to be a case of arson against a Tesla collision center in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Metro Police said Molotov cocktails were used to set the vehicles ablaze. “Resist” was also found spray painted on the building. FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans told reporters the situation “certainly has some of the hallmarks” of a terrorist attack.
A day earlier, Tesla cyber trucks were damaged in an attack in Kansas City, Missouri.
President Trump issued a similar statement earlier this month. When asked if he would consider those behind the attacks domestic terrorists, he stated, “I’ll do it. I’m gonna stop ’em. We catch anybody doing it, because they’re harming a great American company.” He added, “When you hurt an American company, especially a company like this that supplies so many American jobs… those people are gonna go through a big problem when we catch them. We’ve got a lot of cameras up. We already know who some of them are. We’re gonna catch them.”
