A New Mexico Man Faces Federal Charges for Allegedly Setting Fire to a Tesla Showroom

A New Mexico man is facing federal charges for two separate incidents of alleged arson—one at an Albuquerque Tesla showroom and one at the New Mexico Republican Party’s office—according to a Monday press release from the Department of Justice.

Jamison Wagner, 40, was charged with allegedly setting fire to a building or vehicle used in interstate commerce. The charge can apply to goods manufactured and sold in different states and the facilities that house them—like the Tesla showroom, or the Republican office which also sells MAGA merchandise. DOJ spokesperson Shannon Shevlin tells WIRED that Wagner’s arrest happened on Saturday.

“Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence,” attorney general Pam Bondi said in the Monday press release. “We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences.”

Wagner’s arrest warrant alleges that he is responsible for a February 9 incident at a Tesla showroom in which windows were shattered and two Tesla Model Ys were set on fire. It also alleges that he is responsible for a March 30 incident at the Republican Party of New Mexico office in which the entrance area was set on fire and “ICE=KKK” was graffitied on the building’s exterior.

The arrest warrant also says that a lead investigator on Wagner’s case is an FBI agent specializing in “international terrorism, domestic terrorism and firearms.” This marks the second known time that FBI terrorism investigators have gotten involved in a criminal investigation tied to the recent public backlash against Musk and Tesla. However, it’s the first time that the suspect was also allegedly tied to another incident—which, in this case, targeted a Republican office.

The arrest comes amid repeated calls by Bondi, President Trump, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to treat arson and vandalism of Tesla property as “domestic terrorism.” Five other people are currently facing federal charges for alleged vandalism and arson targeting Tesla property, according to press releases by the DOJ.

As reported by WIRED, law enforcement can get access to surveillance technologies and have more legal leeway during terrorism investigations than in other types of investigations. These investigations could also possibly enable Musk and Tesla executives to access surveillance on “Tesla Takedown” protesters, though the protests have broadly been peaceful, and public-facing protest organizers have said that they don’t endorse property damage. The FBI can decide to share this type of information with the victim of a crime during an investigation, WIRED previously reported.

Bondi teased news of Wagner’s arrest last week in a televised Cabinet meeting, telling Trump that there would be “another huge arrest” pertaining to an attack on a Tesla dealership within the next 24 hours.

“That person will be looking at at least 20 years in prison with no negotiations,” Bondi said on Thursday. (The DOJ press release issued after Wagner’s arrest notes that, “A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”)

DOJ spokesperson Shannon Shevlin confirmed that Wagner's arrest was the announcement Bondi was referring to. Her timeline was off, though, because Wagner was not in custody until Saturday.

Wagner was first identified as a suspect due to an unspecified “investigative lead developed by law enforcement through scene evidence,” according to the arrest warrant. Investigators claim that after analyzing CCTV footage from buildings near the Republican office and traffic cameras, they identified a car consistent with the one registered to Wagner. After reviewing Wagner’s driver’s license and conducting physical surveillance outside his home, investigators also believed he resembled the person seen on surveillance footage from the Tesla showroom.

The arrest warrant claims that upon executing a search warrant at Wagner’s house, investigators found red spray paint, ignitable liquids "consistent with gasoline," and jars consistent with evidence found at both the Tesla showroom fire and the Republican office fire. They also found a paint-stained stencil cutout reading “ICE=KKK” consistent with the graffiti found at the Republican office, and clothes that resembled what the suspect was seen wearing on surveillance footage outside the Tesla showroom.

According to the arrest warrant, the ATF’s forensic laboratory tested “fire debris,” and fingerprints, and possible DNA at the scene, but no results are cited in the warrant, which notes that an analysis of the evidence and seized electronic devices is still pending.

The five other people currently facing federal charges for allegedly damaging Tesla property include 42-year-old Lucy Grace Nelson of Colorado, 41-year-old Adam Matthew Lansky of Oregon, 24-year-old Daniel Clarke-Pounder of South Carolina, and 24-year-old Cooper Jo Frederick of Colorado, and 36-year-old Paul Hyon Kim of Nevada.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the incident that led to Kim’s indictment on April 9, however, press releases and court filings indicate that it was not deployed in the other four investigations.