(NEW YORK) — Attorney General Pam Bondi called the recent spate of arson attacks and vandalism against Tesla vehicles “nothing short of domestic terrorism” and promised harsh punishments for perpetrators if they are caught.
The White House also weighed in on the recent attacks Wednesday, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the vandalisms “despicable.”
“Democrats were big supporters of Tesla and of electric vehicles until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. So we would like Democrats to also come out and condemn this heinous violence that we have seen,” Leavitt said.
The statements from Bondi and Leavitt came after the latest incident in which five Tesla vehicles were damaged when a fire was started at a Tesla Collision Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning. That was the latest in a wave of incidents aimed at the electric vehicle company, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” said Dori Koren, assistant sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Along with the burning vehicles, officials said the word “RESIST” was spray-painted across the doors of the facility and three rounds of shots were fired at the additional Teslas. The suspect approached the business wearing black clothing and is believed to have used Molotov cocktails and a firearm to conduct his attack, police said.
Officials received notice that an individual had “set several vehicles on fire in the parking lot and caused damage to the property.”
Police and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating this incident, which they believe was an isolated attack. Authorities are still searching for a suspect.
Two Tesla Cybertrucks also caught on fire at a dealership in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday evening, according to the Kansas City Police Department.
Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations have been vandalized, suffered arson and faced protests in recent weeks since the company’s CEO Elon Musk began his work at the White House spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
In the statement Tuesday, Bondi said, “The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism.” In some of the cases, she said the Justice Department is charging perpetrators with crimes that carry 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 said in the statement.
In the Kansas incident, a police officer in the area spotted smoke coming from one Cybertruck at a Tesla dealership on State Line Road shortly before midnight. The officer attempted to put out the flames using a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread to a second Cybertruck parked next to the original one, police said.
The Kansas City Fire Department ordered the bomb and arson unit to assist on the scene, the fire department said. Officials were able to put out the flames and the vehicles were “covered with a fire blanket to prevent reignition,” the fire department said.
“The circumstances are under investigation but preliminarily the fire is being investigated for the potential of being an arson,” police said in a statement on Monday.
There have been no arrests made for this incident, police said. The FBI is assisting the Kansas City Police Department in this investigation.
This follows a spree of similar incidents that have occurred across the country in the last few weeks.
Last week, “more than a dozen” shots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Tigard, Oregon, according to Kelsey Anderson, the public information officer at the Tigard Police Department.
Additionally, three Teslas were vandalized in Dedham, Massachusetts on March 11, according to the Dedham Police Department. Officials said “words had been spray-painted” on two Tesla Cybertrucks, with all four tires of the trucks and a Tesla Model S being “reportedly damaged.”
Earlier this month, a Tesla charging station was targeted in South Carolina, where an individual spray-painted an expletive directed at President Trump along with “LONG LIVE UKRAINE” on the ground in red paint and threw homemade Molotov cocktails at the station, according to the North Charleston Police Department.
Federal ATF agents arrested 24-year-old Daniel Clarke-Pounder in that incident, charging him with arson of property in interstate commerce.
During a search of his apartment, agents said they found a purple composition notebook that contained a three-page handwritten statement which asserted anti-government beliefs and statements opposed to DOGE.
“The statement made mention of sending a message based on these beliefs and was signed with the initials ‘DC,'” court records said.
Protests against the company have also occurred at dealerships nationwide. Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs told ABC News the demonstrations and the company’s plummeting stocks — which have tumbled nearly 48% this year — can all “be tied to [Musk’s] time at DOGE.”
“It has been a distraction for the company and it’s been a problem for the brand,” Frerichs said.
In recent weeks, four top officers at the company have sold off $100 million in stock, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk, the owner of X, said on Monday that his companies “make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone, so why the hate and violence against me?”
“Because I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls,” Musk said on X.
Musk has also reposted reactions that criticized previous Tesla attacks, including one that said those responsible for the Las Vegas attack are “terrorists and should be treated accordingly.”
A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Jack Moore and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
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