Owen McIntire was arrested earlier this month in connection with a March incident in which a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a Kansas City Tesla dealership.
The 19-year-old suspect accused of setting fire to a Tesla dealership in Kansas City has been released from federal custody after a judge cited the individual’s ADHD diagnosis and limited access to "gender-affirming care" in detention as factors in the decision.
Owen McIntire, a resident of Parkville, Missouri, was arrested earlier this month in Boston in connection with a March incident in which a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a Kansas City Tesla dealership. The attack caused damage to two Tesla Cybertrucks but did not result in any injuries.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, a federal judge last week approved McIntire’s release, according to a report by FOX 4. McIntire’s attorney argued that continued detention would disrupt “serious and ongoing” medical treatment, including care for depression and “gender-affirming” services that McIntire reportedly began receiving in March. The defense also emphasized that McIntire had no prior criminal history and was unlikely to pose a flight risk.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has labeled attacks on Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorism, though McIntire has not been charged with terrorism-related offenses.
"Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us," Bondi previously stated in a press release. "You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it."
McIntire faces two federal charges: unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device, and malicious damage by fire to property used in interstate commerce.
McIntire is scheduled to appear in federal court again on Thursday.
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