A New Mexico man is dealing with federal fees for 2 separate incidents of alleged arson—one at an Albuquerque Tesla showroom and one on the New Mexico Republican Celebration’s workplace—in response to a Monday press release from the Division of Justice.
Jamison Wagner, 40, was charged with allegedly setting hearth to a constructing or car utilized in interstate commerce. The cost can apply to items manufactured and bought in several states and the amenities that home them—just like the Tesla showroom, or the Republican workplace which additionally sells MAGA merchandise. DOJ spokesperson Shannon Shevlin tells WIRED that Wagner’s arrest occurred on Saturday.
“Let this be the ultimate lesson to these participating on this ongoing wave of political violence,” lawyer normal Pam Bondi mentioned within the Monday press launch. “We’ll arrest you, we are going to prosecute you, and we won’t negotiate. Crimes have penalties.”
Wagner’s arrest warrant alleges that he’s chargeable for a February 9 incident at a Tesla showroom during which home windows had been shattered and two Tesla Mannequin Ys had been set on hearth. It additionally alleges that he’s chargeable for a March 30 incident on the Republican Celebration of New Mexico workplace during which the doorway space was set on hearth and “ICE=KKK” was graffitied on the constructing’s exterior.
The arrest warrant additionally says {that a} lead investigator on Wagner’s case is an FBI agent specializing in “worldwide terrorism, home terrorism and firearms.” This marks the second recognized time that FBI terrorism investigators have gotten concerned in a felony investigation tied to the current public backlash towards Musk and Tesla. Nevertheless, it’s the primary time that the suspect was additionally allegedly tied to a different incident—which, on this case, focused a Republican workplace.
The arrest comes amid repeated calls by Bondi, President Trump, Elon Musk, Home Speaker Mike Johnson, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to deal with arson and vandalism of Tesla property as “home terrorism.” 5 different individuals are presently dealing with federal fees for alleged vandalism and arson concentrating on Tesla property, in response to press releases by the DOJ.
As reported by WIRED, regulation enforcement can get entry to surveillance applied sciences and have extra authorized leeway throughout terrorism investigations than in different forms of investigations. These investigations might additionally probably allow Musk and Tesla executives to entry surveillance on “Tesla Takedown” protesters, although the protests have broadly been peaceable, and public-facing protest organizers have said that they don’t endorse property harm. The FBI can resolve to share this sort of info with the sufferer of against the law throughout an investigation, WIRED beforehand reported.
Bondi teased information of Wagner’s arrest final week in a televised Cupboard assembly, telling Trump that there could be “one other large arrest” pertaining to an assault on a Tesla dealership throughout the subsequent 24 hours.
“That particular person can be at the least 20 years in jail with no negotiations,” Bondi mentioned on Thursday. (The DOJ press launch issued after Wagner’s arrest notes that, “A criticism is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed harmless till confirmed responsible past an affordable doubt in a court docket of regulation.”)