- Authorities have arrested a man for two attacks at a Tesla store in Oregon.
- The first involved Molotov cocktails, while a shooting took place in the second.
- He’s facing charges of illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device.
Tesla stores and vehicles have come under attack following Elon Musk’s questionable salute and his gutting of federal agencies as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This has left customers and employees in the crosshairs, but officials are starting to make arrests.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon recently announced 41-year-old Adam Matthew Lansky was arraigned in federal court for possessing Molotov cocktails while attempting to destroy property at a Salem car dealership. This resulted in charges of “illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device.”
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The government went on to say that on January 20 – Trump’s inauguration day – the Salem Police Department responded to a report of an individual throwing Molotov cocktails at a car dealership. While the government didn’t identify the dealership, local stations reported it was a Tesla store.
Nearly a month later, officers returned to the dealership on February 19 to investigate a report of damage. In this incident, the building and a vehicle appeared to have been hit by bullets.
Authorities soon linked both incidents to Lansky and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said “surveillance footage obtained from the car dealership appeared to show Lansky throwing Molotov cocktails that struck a dealership building and several vehicles, causing fires.” While that’s pretty damning, it was backed up by another surveillance video allegedly showing Lansky’s car parked near the dealership as it was being shot at.
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Lansky was arrested on Tuesday, March 4, without incident. A judge ordered him to remain in custody and the government noted the case was a joint effort between the ATF, FBI, and Salem Police Department.
Last month, video from KATU showed the dealership suffered extensive damage as multiple glass panels and doors appeared to have been shot. In the earlier attack, a Model X was apparently set ablaze.
