D.C. police investigating vandalism to Teslas as possible hate crimes

[SunSeeker]

Source: Washington Post

The trouble began at Union Station, D.C. police said, when someone scrawled, “Ask me about my support of Nazis” across a Tesla’s rear window on March 2.

D.C. police say they are investigating the ‘Nazi’ comment, an apparent reference to a gesture criticized as a Nazi-style salute that Musk made on Inauguration Day, and one other, as potential hate crimes.

Prosecutors must prove a person was motivated by prejudice to secure a conviction in a bias-related crime. While targeting someone based on their political affiliation opens the door for such a charge, prosecutors ultimately decide after an arrest has been made and a motive developed. Police statistics show that until now they have not investigated a politically motived hate crime in the past four years in D.C. Through the end of February, police have investigated 17 crimes as hate-related this year, based on ethnicity, national origin, race, gender identity and religion.

The maximum penalty for defacing private property in the District is a $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail. A hate crime conviction would increase these penalties.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/03/26/tesla-dc-police-vandalism/

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So now being against Nazis is a hate crime!



This is the same DC Police who, when called by US Institute of Peace staff to help them fend off DOGE trespassers on USIP private property, instead took DOGE's word and kicked the USIP staff out of the building!

[Irish_Dem]

1. Shooting children in school is fine. Attacking a stupid, ugly car is an FBI hate crime.

[newdeal2]

2. Geez, it was a Roman salute guys

[heckles65]

15. (laughter)

[C_U_L8R]

3. Maybe Disgust Crimes but not Hate.

Not need to set anything on fire, Musk has already torched his brand.

[AmericaUnderSiege]

24. Also frustration crimes.

We need to end fossil fuel cars. Period. Why is this imbecile sabotaging his own company?

[catbyte]

4. Give me a goddamned break.

[demosincebirth]

5. In 1980, I bought Ford Escort and I hated it. I wanted to throw it off a cliff.

Would that be a hate crime?

[SSJVegeta]

6. What, praytell, is the protected class of a Tesla?

Swasticars?

[LudwigPastorius]

21. They're considering it a hate crime against Musk.

...and the protected class is "Richest Republican Donor In The World".

[SSJVegeta]

23. So actual protected classes dont exist anymore, and are replaced by rich people?

[hueymahl]

7. So stupid

Not a hate crime. But this was inevitable. Twisting speech and political beliefs (thus implicating free speech) into actual crime is the core issue. This is the natural unintended outcome.

[58Sunliner]

8. Contact info for DC Police. This is ludicrous.

https://www.facebook.com/DCPolice/#
https://x.com/#!/DCPoliceDept
https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialDCPolice
https://www.instagram.com/dcpolicedept/

Connect With Us
441 4th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

[AmericaUnderSiege]

9. All Americans hate Nazis.

This statement is not up for fucking debate in civilized society.

Not unless you're trying to make some kind of philosophical point about hating the sin and not the sinner. That's fine.

But investigating antifascist vandalism as a hate crime? Eat a fat dick, you pathetic local bullies.

[NotHardly]

10. Since when is Musk/Tesla a "protected class"????

[Montauk6]

13. Soon, the Swastikars will be given the right to vote

[RazorbackExpat]

17. They'll also be able to collect Social Security

and bill costs of repairs to Medicare

[Montauk6]

19. AUTOCARE FOR ALL, there ya go!

[Montauk6]

11. Ohhhh, NOW Qonservatives acknowledge "hate crime"

[Bev54]

12. Well duh, everybody hates Elmo

But I don’t think it will fit the legal sense of a hate crime.

[Red Mountain]

18. They're actively dumbing down the defintion of a hate crime

to somebody that owns a certain thing that is attacked or somebody who is criticized for owning a certain thing.

That's not what a hate crime is. Not even fucking close.

These people hate the idea of a 'hate crime'.

Eliminating them is part of the plan.

Leon's cars are convenient.

[YepYep]

14. I remember...

I remember when MAGA burned down Tesla charging stations. It wasn’t terrorism then

[Polybius]

22. It was always terrorism to me

I too remember when Tesla was targeted by the Right.

[twodogsbarking]

16. I hate Nazis. How's that? So fuck off.

[chowmama]

20. We're actually allowed to hate, loathe and despise people as individuals.

Even if they are members of a protected class, as long as the emotion isn't inspired by their membership in said class. Good thing, too - I've found that there isn't a class in the world without their normal human percentage of total assholes. We are free to acknowledge their personal asshole-ness whenever appropriate and it's perfectly legal. Stating that every member of the group is scum is not only inaccurate in the extreme, it's totally illegal. Simple distinction, right?

We've fallen through the looking glass and the Reich Wing wants words to mean whatever they want them to mean. I'm not cooperating. Words already have meaning. Real meaning.

So when I want to say that Musk isn't worth space, oxygen, or my personal time, I will say so. He may feel he's in a class by himself, and his mommy may agree with him, but that class is not protected. I can say it in his mother tongue (Hai, Musk - fok weg!). I can let him know I find him personally repulsive on every possible level. I can malign him, anybody that looks like him, the horse he rode in on, and anybody that looks like the horse he rode in on.

And he can do it right back if he wants to. It's called free speech. It's also protected speech.

So, Hai, Musk - fok weg! And your vehicles suck swamp gas. I fart in your general direction.