A 19-year-old University of Massachusetts Boston student faces federal charges related to an arson investigation at a Tesla dealership in Kansas City, Missouri, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
Owen McIntire is charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire of any property used in interstate commerce, according to the 21-page criminal complaint.
Federal officials allege that while McIntire was on spring break in his home town in mid-March he used homemade Molotov cocktails to spread a fire that damaged two Cybertrucks valued at $105,485 and $107,485; two charging stations were damaged.
“ATF’s Special Agents and forensic experts recovered and analyzed key evidence—including Molotov cocktails—used in this deliberate and dangerous arson attack,” Acting Director Dan Driscoll of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms said in a statement. “This wasn’t vandalism — it was a violent criminal act. Thanks to the relentless work of ATF special agents … we now have a suspect in custody.”
Fox News reported that police located video footage “of a person who they believe to be McIntire, wearing a large hat, lighting the devices and throwing them at the Cybertrucks before walking away. The hat was later found by authorities near the dealership, with DNA evidence confirming it matched that of a man.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also praised the development on X.
“This is our second Tesla-related arrest this week as our FBI teams continue our aggressive work to crack down on domestic terrorism cases like this one. @AGPamBondi has given us the support to pursue these cases, and we are acting accordingly,” Patel posted on April 18.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDITS: Two Telsa Cybertrucks were burned in an arson attack and a suspect is in custody; images from a KMBC ABC news screenshot and well as from the Department of Justice criminal complaint.
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