Justice Department charges man with arson at New Mexico Tesla dealership and GOP headquarters
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has charged a man with vandalizing a Tesla dealership in New Mexico and setting fire to the headquarters of the state Republican Party, according to court records unsealed Monday.
A criminal complaint charges Jamison R. Wagner, 40, with federal arson charges in connection with the vandalism in February at a Tesla showroom in Bernalillo, where authorities found two Tesla Model Y vehicles ablaze as well as spray-painted graffiti messages including “Die Elon” and “Die Tesla Nazi.”
Elon Musk is the billionaire CEO of Tesla and a close ally of President Donald Trump who has helped engineer a massive downsizing of the federal government and purge of employees.
The arrest is part of a federal crackdown on what the attorney general has described as a wave of domestic terrorism against property carrying the logo of Musk’s electric-car company.
Attorney General Pam Bondi previewed the arrest Thursday during a Cabinet meeting to highlight federal law enforcements’ efforts to go after vandals in recent weeks targeting the electric-car company.
Wagner is also charged in connection with a fire last month at the Albuquerque headquarters of the New Mexico Republican Party. The fire badly burned the entrance and caused extensive smoke damage throughout the office, authorities said. Republican representatives also found spray paint on the side of the building about 50 feet (15 meters) from the entrance, saying “ICE=KKK,” according to New Mexico Republican Party Chair Amy Barela.
During a search of Wagner’s home and garage, investigators found eight assembled suspected incendiary devices, black and red spray paint and a cardboard stencil with the phrase “ICE=KKK” that had red spray paint on it, according to court papers.
An attorney for Wagner didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Justice Department has charged four other cases against people accused of using Molotov cocktails to destroy Tesla cars and fire stations. The FBI last month created a task force to coordinate investigate efforts around the attacks with officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Bondi has suggested prosecutors will make no plea deals with those charged in the Tesla attacks, telling the president at the White House Thursday that “there will be no negotiations, at your directive.”
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