Man Allegedly Drives Into Crowd Of Anti-Musk Protesters, Declares He 'Stands' With Tesla

Yahoo

25-03-2025

A Florida man was arrested and accused of attempting to drive his car into a crowd of people peacefully protesting Tesla CEO Elon Musk outside a showroom for the electric vehicles in Palm Beach over the weekend.
Andrew Dutil, 44, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill after deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office say he drove his black Nissan SUV toward a group of protesters on Saturday, according to an affidavit obtained by HuffPost.
An attorney representing Dutil did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment. Court records show he pleaded not guilty.
Mark Offerman, who organized the protest on behalf of the Democratic Progressive Caucus Palm Beach County told The Palm Beach Post that Dutil 'drove into a crowd of senior citizens.'
'Everybody was able to move out, but two older women were really almost clipped. We immediately called the cops,' Offerman said.
One protester told deputies she was standing on the curb when Dutil drove by the demonstration and began yelling at them, according to the affidavit. She said Dutil drove up onto the curb in his Nissan and approached her.
'She stated she was in fear for her life and believed that she was going to get struck by the vehicle,' deputies wrote in the affidavit. 'She also stated that if she didn't move out of the way she believed she would have been run over.'
Another protester who alleged she was almost struck by Dutil told the deputy she also feared for her life.
Multiple videos of the incident cited in the affidavit corroborated the protesters' accounts of the incident, showing Dutil 'driving on the curb in front of the dealership and almost striking multiple people,' before exiting his car.
Offerman told WPTV that Dutil 'jumped out of the car and proceeded to throw his hands in the air and say: Don't touch the car, I just lost my electronics, I can't steer,' before entering the showroom.
An employee inside the Tesla showroom told deputies Dutil walked in and 'stated that he stands with Tesla and walked out,' according to the affidavit.
Deputies arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and observed Dutil parked outside the Tesla Center, surrounded by multiple people. He was taken into custody without incident.
Dutil's arrest comes amid a nationwide series of protests against Musk, known as the 'Tesla Takedown.' The movement is in response to Musk overseeing President Donald Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has caused chaos among federal agencies and employees in its efforts to slash federal spending.
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