KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 19-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to two Tesla Cybertrucks at a Kansas City Tesla dealership on March 17. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Owen McIntire, a college student attending school in Boston, was arrested and made his first appearance in federal court on Friday to face federal charges related to the arson attack.
McIntire, who was home in Kansas City for spring break at the time of the incident, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire to property used in interstate commerce, federal prosecutors confirmed.
The arrest of McIntire marks the second such incident this week involving federal charges for arson attacks on Tesla dealerships. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned potential perpetrators, saying, “Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
According to an affidavit, a Kansas City Police Department officer noticed smoke coming from a grey Cybertruck parked in the KC Tesla Center parking lot around 11:16 p.m. on March 17. Investigators say that the fire was intentionally set, causing significant damage to the vehicles.
McIntire’s actions are now under federal investigation, and further legal proceedings are expected to unfold as authorities pursue justice for the damage caused.
