Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Kelly and other Dems refuse to label Tesla attacks as ‘domestic terrorism’
WASHINGTON, DC: Democrats are staying silent on whether their fiery rhetoric against Elon Musk is fueling a wave of attacks against Tesla owners and dealerships, including acts of vandalism and firebombings.
Senator Mark Kelly stopped short of calling these incidents "domestic terrorism" but didn’t downplay their severity.
As the Justice Department opens an investigation, many Democrats, including Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, remain tight-lipped on the potential link. Republicans, on the other hand, have labeled these attacks as terrorism and demanded justice.
Senator Mark Kelly declines labeling Tesla attacks as 'domestic terrorism'
Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona declined to comment on whether the heated rhetoric from Democrats about Elon Musk is responsible for the recent wave of attacks on Tesla owners and dealerships across the country.
These attacks, which include shootings and Molotov cocktail incidents, have sparked concern, but Kelly refrained from labeling them as "domestic terrorism".
While he acknowledged the severity of the crimes, such as firebombing cars or damaging vehicles, Kelly stressed, "It’s certainly vandalism and it’s a crime, a significant crime, especially if you firebomb a car or vandalize somebody’s vehicle, or even key somebody’s vehicle, you shouldn’t be doing it."
However, when pressed by Fox News Digital on whether the attacks should be considered terrorism, Kelly cautioned against overusing the term, saying, "I think we've got to tread lightly on the whole ‘terrorist’ word."
He further explained, "Sometimes trying to expand this thing, it kind of loses its focus. But when folks are vandalizing people’s vehicles or dealerships, it is wrong and it is dangerous. Somebody’s going to get hurt. For that reason, we should let the full force of law enforcement get to this problem and prosecute it."
To give context to the ongoing attacks on Tesla, there have been more than 80 cases of vandalism targeting Tesla vehicles in both the US and Canada, along with at least 10 instances of vandalism and arson involving Tesla dealerships, charging stations, and other properties.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has stated that the Justice Department is treating these incidents as potential acts of "domestic terrorism" and is currently investigating them.
Dems refrain from addressing recent Tesla attacks
Top Democrats have largely refrained from addressing the recent attacks against Tesla. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY denied to comment on whether the anti-Musk rhetoric from Democrats could be tied to the violent incidents.
When Fox News Digital asked about a possible link between the language used against Musk and the attacks, she responded, "Yeah, I mean, again, I’ve seen Republicans call me ‘communist’ and that I ‘hate this country'," before trailing off, per Fox News.
Rep Summer Lee, D-Pa, went further, refusing to even describe the attacks as violent. She said, "While I have no opinion on what’s been going on, I actually haven’t been following that much, but let’s be precise about our language — ‘violence’ is against human beings."
Lee added that it’s crucial to distinguish between people's genuine frustration and the harmful rhetoric coming from those in power.
She also criticized President Donald Trump for his rhetoric, "Donald Trump is in power and he’s abusing that and it’s going to harm people and has already. Because of the rhetoric from the administration, because of the rhetoric from the right, we’re seeing American citizens being picked up, we’re seeing a lot of profiling that’s happening, I think that that’s incredibly dangerous and again those are being perpetrated against people."
Rep Steny Hoyer, D-Md, also attempted to turn the question around, saying President Donald Trump "in effect… told people to resort to violence" at his rally on January 6, 2021.
Hoyer said he discourages people from resorting to violence but advocated for peaceful ways of telling Trump and Musk "how angry we are".
"Effectively, he [Musk] and Trump are both trying to profit from being president. And this is unheard of what Musk is doing," said Hoyer.
Rep Jamie Raskin, D-Md declared, "I’m opposed to all violence, beginning with the Jan 6th insurrection."
Rep Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who has been warned by Bondi to "tread lightly" after seeming to threaten Musk by calling for him to be "taken down", refused to answer the question, while her security got into the face of the Fox News Digital reporter.
Republicans condemn Tesla attacks as acts of terrorism
Republicans have strongly condemned the attacks against Tesla, labeling them as clear acts of terrorism. "I think it’s awful, they need to bust their a**. Elon doesn’t even own a majority share of it anymore. All you’re doing is hurting Americans," said Rep Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.
Rep Addison McDowell, R-N.C, compared the attacks to the recent Bud Light boycott, saying, "When we boycotted Bud Light over their support over these radical issues, we didn’t just say, ‘We’re going to burn down Bud Light manufacturers.’ We just didn’t buy it."
McDowell criticized what he described as the behavior of "woke, radical liberals" who are now setting Tesla cars on fire and destroying property. "That’s not how adults behave, they’re behaving like criminals," McDowell declared.
