KANSAS CITY, MO- There’s a new sheriff in town, and her name is Pam Bondi.
A transgender teen accused of firebombing two Tesla Cybertrucks is looking at a lengthy jail sentence in connection with the March 17 attack that came amid liberal outrage at Tesla founder Elon Musk, who was working with the Trump administration as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Daily Mail reports that Owen McIntire, 19, is looking at spending 30 years in prison.
He has denied federal charges of malicious destruction of property and unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device.
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced McIntire’s arrest.
She noted it was being elevated to the Department of Justice’s national security division due to the spate of domestic terrorism, particularly on the Tesla brand.
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” Bondi said.
“You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
McIntire’s arrest came as Tesla dealerships, charging stations, vehicles, and even those driving Teslas were subjected to what appeared to be a coordinated effort to stoke fear in anyone supporting the Tesla brand.
Numerous Tesla dealerships were vandalized nationwide, apparently as a message to Musk to back away from DOGE.
Despite the seriousness of the charges and the DOJ’s insistence on keeping McIntire locked up, a judge granted his pre-trial release after his attorneys said McIntire had “serious and ongoing” medical needs.
He was allegedly undergoing gender affirming care at the time of arrest.
McIntire also allegedly has ADHD and autism.
He had started treatments the month of the Tesla attack, which would have been interrupted or terminated while in custody, his attorneys claimed.
Lawyers also cited McIntire’s ties to the Kansas City area and lack of a criminal record in seeking his release.
When he was arrested, he was a physics student at the University of Massachusetts.
According to Kansas City police, several Tesla trucks were set ablaze at the same time a Tesla dealership was firebombed at around 11:15 pm on March 17.
Police recovered a wide-brimmed hat and a Molotov cocktail that failed to detonate at the scene.
Police allege that another such device was used to set the trucks on fire. They said the fire also spread and damaged two Tesla charging stations.
Investigators retrieved video surveillance footage of the incident from a resident’s home, approximately one block away from the dealership, which showed McIntire parking his car outside.
Police also obtained video evidence from a nearby business and the Tesla dealership, which showed McIntire wearing dark clothing and a wide-brimmed hat.
The footage from the Tesla dealership also showed McIntire lighting an apple cider vinegar bottle filled with an unknown flammable substance and throwing it at the Cybertruck. He then left the scene, returned to his car, and fled.
McIntire was tracked down using traffic cameras, GPS, cellphone records, and surveillance footage from Kansas City International Airport, according to The Daily Mail.
Investigators also said DNA analysis from the wide-brimmed hat, found near the first witness’s home, resulted in a match to McIntire. Police obtained a warrant, and McIntire was arrested on the UMass campus.
McIntire was released into the custody of his parents, must participate in mental health programs, and take any prescribed medication. He was also ordered to avoid all Tesla dealerships and is under home confinement with electronic monitoring.
His trial is set for August 11.
