U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned on Sunday that Rep. Jasmine Crockett should “tread carefully” in her public opposition to Elon Musk and Tesla. Bondi criticized the Texas Democrat for what she described as “calls for attacks on Elon Musk” in response to his role in leading government spending cuts through the Department of Government Efficiency.
“She is an elected public official, so she needs to tread very carefully because nothing will happen to Elon Musk and we are going to fight to protect all of the Tesla owners throughout this country,” Bondi said on Fox News Channel. Crockett responded on MSNBC, stating that Bondi was misrepresenting her words and that she has never advocated for violence.
During a “Tesla Takedown” conference call last week, Crockett, a member of the House Department of Government Efficiency Subcommittee, said that all she wanted for her March 29 birthday was “for Elon to be taken down.” Crockett later clarified that her remarks were not intended to incite violence.
“The things that we’re fighting for — we are fighting for our country, we are fighting for democracy, we’re fighting for our freedom — and when I say fighting, I am saying that figuratively,” she said. “Everything that I am promoting is nonviolent, and so definitely don’t want anyone to take that word literally in any way.”
Protesters across the nation have participated in the “Tesla Takedown” demonstrations outside the electric carmaker’s showrooms, the Washington Times reported. A website dedicated to the effort calls for “A Peaceful Protest Movement” and urges voters to “Sell Your Teslas,” “Dump Your Stock, and “Stop Musk Now.” The group’s website says: “Hurting Tesla is stopping Musk. Stopping Musk will help save lives and our democracy.” The group is planning a March 29 “Global Day of Protest.”
On Sunday, Crockett accused Bondi of attempting to intimidate her into silence. She added that neither Bondi nor President Trump has any credibility when it comes to speaking out against political violence, though as a lawyer before being elected to Congress, she represented BLM protesters and ‘activists’ pro bono.
“Just in case the slow people listening decide to clip this up later, I just want to say that I have never promoted violence whatsoever. Yet, I also have never made an excuse for those violent actors, such as those on Jan. 6,” she said. “So Pam Bondi, if you have an issue with terrorism, maybe you should talk to your boss about locking back up those guys that he let out that participated in Jan. 6.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Bondi said that three people charged in connection with arson incidents at Tesla car dealerships and charging stations face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. “Domestic terrorism is going to come to a stop in this country,” Ms. Bondi said.
Bondi’s warning to Crockett comes after several GOP lawmakers requested that FBI Director Kash Patel launch an investigation into Crockett’s actions and remarks to determine if she has crossed a legal line after President Trump declared violence directed at Tesla dealerships to be “domestic terrorism.”