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Lucy Grace Nelson was arrested Monday in Loveland after police
said she returned to the dealership there with “additional
incendiary devices” and materials used in vandalism. Police are
still investigating her alleged motive, department spokesperson
Chris Padgett said.
The case comes amid rising concerns voiced by Democrats and some
Republicans about Musk’s influence over the administration of
President Donald Trump and follows recent protests at Tesla
storerooms elsewhere in the U.S.
Nelson was arrested on state charges of using an incendiary
device or explosives during a felony, criminal mischief and
criminal attempt to commit a felony in connection with the
vandalism Monday, police said. However, police said they are
working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives and federal charges were likely.
Nelson, who posted bond and was released from jail Tuesday, did
not immediately respond to a telephone message on Wednesday.
The arrest affidavit outlining police's evidence against Nelson
suggests there could be a second person involved, noting that
the person seen on surveillance video during one of the six
incidents since Jan. 29 seemed to have a smaller build than
Nelson. But it identified Nelson as the person seen at other
times.
Padgett said police were investigating the possibility of
someone else being involved. He declined to release more details
about the case because of the federal investigation.
In one of the incidents, someone spray painted an obscenity
believed to be directed at Musk before being chased away by a
security guard, the affidavit notes.
Security footage from the dealer also showed someone throwing
Molotov cocktails into a row of Tesla sedans. The affidavit said
at least four vehicles worth a combined $220,000 were targeted
by the incendiary devices, which were crafted from empty liquor
bottles. Police said that when Nelson was arrested, in her car
they observed cans of spray paint, gasoline, bottles and various
cloth pieces that could be soaked with an accelerant.
A woman who answered the phone at the Tesla dealership in
Loveland declined to comment. Tesla did not return an email
seeking comment.
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Associated Press writer Thomas Peipert contributed to this
report.
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