Donald Trump is threatening to deport U.S. citizens who vandalize Tesla dealerships.
In a post on Truth Social Friday morning, the president took his threats to punish protesters for committing so-called “domestic terrorism” against his billionaire bureaucrat’s electric vehicles to a new level.
“I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla. Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s mention of prisons in El Salvador refers to his $6 million deal with President Nayib Bukele to hold 261 people whom Trump deported last week, after invoking the Alien Enemies Act to declare members of the Tren de Aragua gang an “invading force” in order to suspend their due process. Among those deported were several individuals who advocates claim had been wrongly identified as gang members.
This obviously isn’t the first time Trump has threatened to deport lawful American citizens.
On the campaign trail, Trump used to fling it as a threat against people who stood against him, such as former special counsel Jack Smith. Smith oversaw two investigations into Trump, one regarding his alleged efforts to overturn the election results in 2020, and another into his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Since entering office, Trump’s administration has set to work undermining birthright citizenship, stripping the legal protections of immigrants in the U.S. temporary protected status, and detaining academics for using pro-Palestine rhetoric. With these actions, Trump is attempting to widen the circle of who can be deported, and now seems to hope he can extend it to those who … vandalize cars.
Earlier this week, five Teslas were damaged during a fire at a Tesla Collision Center in Las Vegas. Officials said that the word “RESIST” was spray-painted across the facility’s door, and that the suspect is believed to have used Molotov cocktails and a firearm. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that in a separate case In Colorado, three suspects charged with allegedly vandalizing a Tesla dealership could face up to 20 years in prison.
In another post on Truth Social Thursday night, Trump claimed that the attacks were being funded by a larger, more nefarious force—something that Musk suggested earlier this week too.
“People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the funders. WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!” Trump wrote.
The post Trump Threatens to Deport the “Terrorists” Who Protest Tesla appeared first on New Republic.
