Cybertrucks vandalized with swastikas in Lynnwood as protest continue against its CEO
A series of Tesla Cybertrucks in Lynnwood were vandalized at a Tesla Service Station this week. The vehicles had graffiti and swastikas painted on their exteriors.
'We're stronger than this as a society,' says 'Roro', the owner of one of the vandalized vehicles. 'In 2025 to have swastikas on your car in Lynnwood, Washington, you know, as a gay Jewish person, I was kind of taken aback. But I didn't take it personally, because, obviously, I believe they were just targeting Tesla and Elon and the dealership itself.'
On Wednesday, 'anti-Tesla' protesters gathered outside the Tesla dealership in Seattle with signs and chants criticizing Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Some of the protestors tell KIRO 7 that they plan to gather in peace, and that they don't condone the recent violence against local Tesla drivers.
The vandalism in Lynnwood comes as Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations across the country have become recent targets for criminal activity.
This week, President Trump, called the recent incidents 'attacks' that should be considered domestic terrorism.
'And let me tell you, you do it to Tesla, and you do it to any company, we're gonna catch you and you're gonna, you're gonna go through hell,' said President Trump on the White House lawn, Tuesday.
When asked whether 'Roro' considers the graffiti on his car as domestic terrorism, he responded 'One hundred percent. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.'
What do the experts say? KIRO 7 spoke with Brian Levin, who founded the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
'Indeed, in the very technical notion of what constitutes terrorism targeting Tesla dealerships or infrastructure to make a social or political statement would be a terrorist act. The problem is, we don't have a domestic terrorism statute here in the United States,' says Levin.
Levin says while some states do have a criminal statute involving 'domestic terrorism', they're rarely used. However, he states that the Tesla vandalism in Lynnwood could be seen as more than vandalism. It could be charged as a hate crime, depending on the prosecutors.
'Washington state has one of the most broadly applicable hate crime laws in the United States,' says Levin. 'The bottom line is, I wouldn't be committing a lot of crimes in Washington state, and certainly nothing like this.'
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