BOSTON (WHDH) – A UMass Boston student was arrested Friday and accused of targeting a Tesla business in Missouri, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The department said Owen McIntire, 19, tried to set fire to a Tesla facility in Kansas City last month using Molotov cocktails. Officials say McIntire did so while home for spring break last month.
When crews responded, they said they found two Cybertrucks up in flames. According to investigators, surveillance video, witness accounts, and forensic evidence tie the man to the scene.
UMass Boston confirms McIntire is currently enrolled at the college.
McIntire faces federal charges including unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and malicious damage by fire of any property used in interstate commerce.
FBI Boston’s acting special agent in charge wrote in a statement, “Peacefully protesting is protected activity. Arson and destruction of property are violent crimes. There are productive ways to express your desire for change but violence will never be one of them.”
The FBI says this is the second arrest this week of a person charged with targeting Tesla.
McIntire is from Missouri, the department said in a statement. He was taken into police custody Friday.
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