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Image description: Andrew Dutil from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Scene: Demonstrators outside the Tesla store located at 5544 Okeechobee Blvd. in Palm Beach County, Florida. (Source: WPTV/YouTube).
A Florida man who allegedly claims he “stands with Tesla” attacked a group of people protesting against CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump outside one of the car company’s showrooms in Palm Beach County on Saturday by driving into them, cops say.
“He drove into a crowd of senior citizens,” Mark Offerman, a member of the group behind the protest, the Democratic Progressive Caucus in Palm Beach County — Trump’s home county — told The Palm Beach Post about the suspect, Andrew Dutil, who is charged with aggravated assault. He is said to have almost hit multiple people who were targeting the Palm Beach Tesla showroom on account of its relation to Musk, a Trump ally and unofficial leader of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” (DOGE) as well as its location.
“Everybody was able to move out, but two older women were really almost clipped,” Offerman said. “We immediately called the cops.”
Police say Dutil went after a crowd of more than 100 protesters at around 1 p.m. Saturday, though no one was injured in the attack. He allegedly drove a black Nissan Pathfinder directly at the crowd and then parked it on a nearby sidewalk, claiming its brakes and electronics had failed.
“Leave the car alone,” Dutil told protesters, according to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Employees said Dutil told them he “stands with Tesla” before walking out of the showroom, according to local ABC affiliate WPLG.
In addition to protests, people have allegedly been targeting Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations with fire bombings and other types of attacks recently in response to how they feel about Musk and his relationship with Trump and DOGE. At least three individuals have been arrested so far, with Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing charges against them last week in a Department of Justice press release and statement.
“All three defendants will face the full force of the law for using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations,” the DOJ release said. One defendant, who was allegedly armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle, was arrested after reportedly throwing eight Molotov cocktails at a dealership located in Salem, Oregon. Another was arrested in Loveland, Colorado, after they attempted to firebomb multiple Teslas with Molotov cocktails.
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“The defendant was later found in possession of materials used to produce additional incendiary weapons,” the release said. “In Charleston, South Carolina, a third defendant wrote profane messages against President Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting the charging stations on fire with Molotov cocktails.”
Bondi has condemned the Tesla attacks as a “wave of domestic terrorism” and vowed to put those involved behind bars.
Offerman said the DPC protesters on Saturday were trying to send a peaceful message that they’re furious with how things have been going with Musk and the Trump administration.
“We’re outraged and we’re appalled,” Offerman told the Post, before explaining the protesters’ intentions with targeting the Palm Beach County showroom, where demonstrations are planned through April. “Mar-a-Lago is here. Trump is here. This is his home. We have big problems with the way that our government functions, and find it very anti-American. So we want to wake people up, and we’re taking on this national call.”
Dutil has been booked at the Palm Beach County jail and is being held without bond as he awaits his next court date in April.
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