Herriman man arrested after vandalizing Tesla with anti-Trump sticker, police say

RIVERTON — A 72-year-old Herriman man was arrested Thursday after police say he put an anti-Trump sticker on a Tesla truck.

The man was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of property damage, a misdemeanor, and later released while formal charges are pending.

According to a police booking affidavit, the man put a red and white sticker on a Tesla Cybertruck parked at a Riverton shopping center. The sticker included a graphic of a middle finger and an expletive next to President Donald Trump’s name, followed by, “And I don’t know who Brandon is,” the affidavit states.

The Tesla’s sentry cameras, however, recorded the man. Surveillance video then recorded the man driving out of the parking lot and police were able to get a license plate number.

“Pictures of (the man) were also circulated on Facebook Tesla groups. In those pictures, it was alleged (he) adhered a sticker to another Tesla that was parked at an area emergency room,” the affidavit alleges. “(The man) has been seen in social media posts placing other overtly political stickers on other Tesla brand vehicles.”

The Tesla owner in Riverton told police she “felt the sticker was placed on her vehicle deliberately because it is a Tesla Cybertruck, and Tesla is owned by Elon Musk. Elon Musk’s affiliation with a presidential administration made the victim believe her Tesla was specifically targeted to intimidate and terrorize her. One of the results of (the man) placing the sticker on the victim’s vehicle was her feeling ‘very unsafe,'” according to the affidavit.

“Ironically, the victim said she probably shares the similar political views and is on the same side politically” as the man, which made her hesitant to report the vandalism, police noted. “Ultimately, she decided to report the property damage because it just ‘wasn’t right’ doing that to anybody, regardless of political affiliation.”

Read the full story at ksl.com