A 19-year-old University of Massachusetts Boston University student was arrested for a crazy fire bomb from a Missouri Tesla dealer, federal officials said.
Owen McIntyre, 19, returned to his hometown of Parkville for spring break on March 17, to a Tesla dealer near Kansas City, where he threw two Molotov cocktails on a cyber truck, causing fire and thousands of dollars of damage before spreading to a second cyber truck. The Justice Department said Friday.
In the alleged arson attack, McIntyre allegedly created two homemade agitators and used them to destroy a pair of cybertrucks worth $105,485 and $107,495.
Only one of these bottle bombs exploded, and investigators said they were able to recover the second, completely completely intact. Photos from the scene showed it looked like an apple cider vinegar bottle.
The two Tesla charging stations, which cost $550 each, were also damaged by the flames, Feds said.
McIntire is being charged with one count of unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices and one count of malicious damages from a fire on property used in interstate commerce, the DOJ said.
“Let’s be very clear to anyone who still wants to launch Tesla’s property. You won’t avoid us,” Attorney General Pam Bondy warned in a statement from the DOJ.
“You’ll be arrested. You’ll be charged. You’ll be spent decades behind the bar. It’s worthless.”
The FBI coordinated the arrests and celebrated the crackdown on extremists targeting an electric vehicle company owned by Elon Musk, who oversees the Trump administration’s Cost-Cut Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“This is the second arrest of a suspect targeting Tesla this week, and more evidence that the FBI does not support these destructive behavior.” FBI Director Kash Patel said in X.
“These actions are dangerous and illegal and we intend to arrest those responsible,” Patel added.
On a social media account believed to be that of McEntire, he wrote a long drill in March 2023 about the state of the world and his mental health.
“I’m currently suffering from a panic attack and now I have the painful urge to scream out the world.
“I don’t know how to think it’s unthinkable every time I watch the news. It’s new and awful, and this terrible school bill broke me and the Labour Law and Project Villow and Law v Wade.
According to public records, McIntyre’s parents work professionally as musicians.
Umass Boston and The McIntires did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
