An Idaho man was arrested and accused of striking a counterprotester with his car during a protest at a Tesla dealership Saturday, according to the Meridian Police Department.
Christopher Talbot, 70, made “an obscene gesture” at a 49-year-old victim and struck him with his car, police alleged. About 30 protesters and 200 counterprotesters had gathered at a protest at a Tesla dealership on Franklin Road in western Idaho.
Hundreds of protesters have gathered at Tesla dealerships in recent weeks, including in New York, Maryland and Arizona just this weekend.
“Reports indicate the victim had been driving a truck with pro-Trump flags and had just parked and exited his vehicle when Talbot struck him with his car,” police said in a news release. “The victim drove himself to a local hospital, where he was treated and released [with] non-life-threatening injuries.”
Police did not identify the victim, who they said was a counterprotester.
Talbot was arrested without incident and charged with aggravated battery Saturday. He was booked into the Ada County Jail. It was not clear whether he has an attorney.
“The Meridian Police Department reminds people to respect everyone’s right to protest and express their 1st Amendment Rights without resorting to violence,” police said.
The incident is still under investigation, and police ask anyone with information to get in touch.
Dozens of acts of vandalism have targeted Tesla cars, dealerships and charging stations across the country over the past several weeks after Elon Musk joined President Donald Trump’s tumultuous second administration and began leading a sweeping effort to cut large swaths of the federal government.
In an interview Thursday with Fox News, Musk blamed the “far left” for the vandalism at dealerships across the country, calling it “the real villains here.”
“And the president’s made it clear, we’re going to go after them,” Musk said. “The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and propaganda, we’re going after them.”
Protesters told NBC News they were demonstrating against Musk’s federal cuts.
“We have a crazy person who’s blowing through our democratic processes with no qualifications, he was not elected, he has no idea what he’s doing,” J.F. Garcia, a protester in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, said Saturday. “I think his phrase is move fast and break things? That’s not how you bring about positive change.”
