Arizona Grand Jury Returns Five-Count Indictment Against Alleged Tesla Arsonist
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a five-count indictment against an alleged arsonist who attacked a Tesla dealership in Mesa, Arizona.
The charges against Ian William Moses, 35, include Maliciously Damaging Property and Vehicles in Interstate Commerce by Means of Fire.
The charging documents filed in the case allege that in the early morning on Monday, April 28, Moses, dressed in a dark hooded sweatshirt and a black mask, entered the Tesla parking lot carrying a red plastic gas can and a black backpack.
Further, while in the Tesla parking lot, documents say Moses was captured on video as he placed fire starter logs next to the dealership building, poured gasoline onto the starter logs, the building, and three Tesla vehicles, and ignited the starter logs.
A silver Tesla Cybertruck was destroyed in the subsequent fire.
Video shows Moses leaving the dealership on a dark colored bicycle shortly thereafter.
According to reports, Mesa police officers arrested Moses approximately a quarter mile away from the Tesla dealership shortly after the incident while he was still dressed in the same clothes as he was seen wearing at the scene.
After his arrest, officers found a hand-drawn map of the area in Moses’ pocket with the Tesla dealership marked by the letter T.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi remarked, “If you engage in domestic terrorism, this Department of Justice will find you, follow the facts, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. No negotiating.”
ATF Acting Director Dan Driscoll added, “ATF’s Special Agents and forensic investigators, working with the FBI and local partners, quickly recovered and analyzed critical evidence following this deliberate attack.”
“This attack poses a serious threat to public safety and the ATF remains committed to aggressively pursuing anyone who endangers our communities through violence or destruction.”
“There is nothing American about burning down someone else’s business because you disagree with them politically,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona.
“These ongoing attacks against Tesla are not protests, they are acts of violence that have no place in Arizona or anywhere else. If someone targets Tesla with violence, they will be found and confronted with the full force of the law.”
Each count of conviction for Malicious Damage to Property in Interstate Commerce carries a minimum penalty of five years and up to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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