An Arizona man could fine more than $1 million in decades of prison in a prison that allegedly torched a Tesla Cybertruck in Mesa, Arizona last month. Last month, federal authorities Announced on Wednesday.
Ian William Moses, 35, of Mesa, was charged with five felony counts this week. Malicious damage to property used in interstate commerce. Authorities claim that Moses will use gasoline and starter logs to set fire to the dealership and three Tesla vehicles on April 28th.
Department of Justice, a News release has been announced The federal ju judge's indictment of Moses shared photos of a burnt-out cybertruck that exploded during the attack.
According to Local media coveragespray painted doodles of the suspect next to the building where he mistook the word “thief.”
Mesa Police Moses arrested Not a mile away from the Tesla dealer shortly after the fire began, he was wearing the same clothes as those seen in surveillance footage pouring gas into the building. The officer also allegedly found a map drawn in Moses' pocket with the letter “t” marking the location of the dealer.
“Americans have nothing about burning someone else's business because you're politically opposed to them,” says Timothy Courcene, interim federal prosecutor in Arizona. said in a statement. “These ongoing attacks on Tesla are not protests, they are violence that has no place in Arizona or anywhere else. If someone targets Tesla with violence, they face the full power of the law.”
If convicted, each count will be fined up to 20 years in prison and fined $250,000.
In a statement regarding Moses' indictment, Attorney General Pam Bondy said there was “no negotiations” on the charges.
“If you are engaged in domestic terrorism, this Department of Justice will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law, following the facts,” Bondy said.
Earlier this year, Bondi showed that vandalism targeting Tesla dealers and vehicles would be treated as “domestic terrorism.”
“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla's property is nothing but domestic terrorism,” she said in a statement on March 18th. “We will continue our investigation into those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these attacks.”
