The U.S. attorney general is bringing charges against three people suspected of violent attacks on Tesla vehicles amid a wave of targeted strikes at company properties over Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration’s widespread cuts to spending and jobs. In a statement on Thursday, Pamela Bondi said all three defendants will “face the full force of the law.” “The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” she said. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.” The defendants are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at Tesla charging stations and firing rounds of bullets into vehicles. One suspect was armed with “a suppressed AR-15 rifle” and was arrested after throwing approximately eight Molotov cocktails at a dealership in Salem, Ore., according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Another was detained in Loveland, Colo., after an attempt to light Teslas on fire, also using Molotov cocktails. “The defendant was later found in possession of materials used to produce additional incendiary weapons,” the DOJ says. A third suspect in Charleston, S.C., wrote “profane messages against President Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting the charging stations on fire with Molotov cocktails.” All three unnamed suspects face charges carrying a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison, however, the DOJ did not specify what the charges are. In a post on Truth Social on Friday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the targeting of Musk and his company. “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,” he wrote. In a separate post on Thursday, he warned that those executing the attacks will be found. “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 charges come during what seems to be a quickly spreading trend of targeted Tesla attacks, including in Canada. On Wednesday, Hamilton police said they were investigating after more than 80 Teslas were found damaged outside a dealership at 999 Upper Wentworth St. In a news release on Thursday, officers said the degree of damage ranged from deep scratches to punctured tires. In another blow to Musk’s once popular electric vehicle company, almost all Cybertrucks have been recalled in the U.S. over concerns about the integrity of the model’s outer trim. According to Reuters, “Tesla is recalling the cars because of the risk of a stainless-steel exterior trim panel detaching from the vehicle, causing a potential road hazard and raising the chances of a crash.” The issue affects more than 46,000 vehicles built between November 2023 and Feb. 27 of this year, marking the eighth recall for the SUV since January 2024. The latest setback is just one among a mounting pile of mishaps for Tesla and its billionaire owner. The company’s stock has plummeted in value this year, now worth about half of what it once was due in part to increased competition from other electric vehicle manufacturers and the downturn in popularity of Musk among Americans and international customers. In a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Musk spoke out against the rise in vandalism directed at Tesla properties, saying that it “came as quite a shock” to him, and directed blame towards “the left”. “I thought the left, Democrats, were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring. And yet they’re burning down cars. They’re firebombing dealerships. They’re firing bullets into dealerships. They’re just smashing up Teslas,” he told Hannity. “Tesla is a peaceful company,” he added. “We’ve never done anything harmful, I’ve never done anything harmful, I’ve only done productive things.” He then called the attacks “deranged” and claimed there must be “some kind of mental illness going on.” Musk, like Trump, also alluded to “larger forces at work.” His remarks came the day after a fire at a Tesla collision centre in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas incident followed a slew of similar incidents across the U.S. On Monday night, two Tesla Cybertrucks were burned at a dealership in Kansas City, Mo. Police said an officer spotted a Cybertruck on fire at the dealership shortly before midnight. The officer tried to use a fire extinguisher before having to call the Kansas City Fire Department to assist as the fire spread. On March 8, footage captured during protests at a Manhattan Tesla showroom shows police removing several demonstrators from inside the premises, where glass doors had been shattered. Protesters also gathered outside the facility and could be heard chanting, “We need clean air, not another billionaire.” Six people were arrested, five for disorderly conduct and one for resisting arrest, according to media reports. On March 5, seven Tesla charging stations at a mall in Littleton, Mass., about 60 kilometres outside of Boston, were burned, causing heavy damage and sending up plumes of thick smoke. — with files from Global News’ Michelle Butterfield