A UMass Boston faculty pupil allegedly spent his spring break again house in Kansas Metropolis firebombing a Tesla dealership with Molotov cocktails — a scorching type of felony political protest throughout the nation.
Owen McIntire, 19, of Parkville, Missouri, was arrested in and made an preliminary look in federal court docket in Boston Friday on fees of malicious destruction of property and illegal possession of an unregistered firearm or damaging gadget, in response to court docket data. The case might be based mostly within the U.S. District Court docket for Western Missouri.
McIntire’s standing was confirmed by an announcement launched by UMass Boston.
The case follows a sample of such conduct by sure components displeased by the President Trump administration and the work of his billionaire advisor Elon Musk, the proprietor of the automaker Tesla. This newest arrest was even commented on by U.S. Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi.
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” Bondi stated. “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
Kansas Metropolis Police noticed smoke coming from a Tesla Cybertruck parked on the KC Tesla Middle parking zone at round 11:15 p.m. on March 17. The officers had been unable to place the fireplace out however had been allegedly capable of roll an “unbroken suspected incendiary device” close to the burning automobile “to preserve its evidentiary value.” The hearth then unfold to a different Cybertruck parked close by in addition to two Tesla charging stations.
The “incendiary device” was what is called a “molotov cocktail”: a glass bottle, which on this case was what appeared in images to be a bottle initially for Braggs Natural Apple Cider Vinegar, crammed with gasoline after which corked with a rag. The rag is then set on fireplace and the bottle thrown at a goal. When the bottle breaks, the gasoline ignites.
Federal brokers carried out an investigation which shortly positioned surveillance video from the world. Investigators honed in on a white crossover-style automobile that drove by the dealership and its driver, who when exiting the automobile might be seen “wearing dark flowy clothing and a large, white-colored hat,” in response to a regulation enforcement affidavit filed within the case.
Additional investigation recognized the automobile as a Subaru Crosstrek registered to an tackle owned by a relative of McIntire, who investigators then recognized because the suspect.
Within the affidavit, which gives extremely detailed data throughout 20 pages on how investigators recognized McIntire because the suspect, regulation enforcement acknowledged that McIntire goes to school in Boston however was on spring break on the time of the offense.
Surveillance video from the airport and a assessment of posts on McIntire’s Instagram and Fb profiles additional confirmed the scholar had traveled from Boston to Kansas Metropolis on the related time.
Courtesy/U.S. District Court docket – Western Missouri
An unbroken Molotov cocktail that investigators say was thrown by suspected Kansas Metropolis Tesla firebomber Owen McIntire. (Courtesy/U.S. District Court docket – Western Missouri)
Courtesy/U.S. District Court docket – Western Missouri
Owen McIntire seen on the airport throughout a visit from Boston to Kansas Metropolis in March. (Courtesy/U.S. District Court docket – Western Missouri)
Courtesy/U.S. District Court docket – Western Missouri
Suspected Kansas Metropolis Tesla firebomber Owen McIntire as seen in a Fb picture included in charging paperwork. (Courtesy/U.S. District Court docket – Western Missouri)
Initially Printed:
