Domestic terrorists. Potential deportees. Violent saboteurs. That’s how the Trump administration is now framing anti-Tesla protesters who have been accused of vandalism and arson. The Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, has filed serious charges against some of them.
The average Black American, naturally, has never received that kind of protection. Legislation and police antagonize human beings protesting injustice. Protesters who allegedly damage property, à la Stop Cop City, are criminalized. But we can’t unpack defining Tesla damage as “terrorism” without understanding previous histories of vehicular violence — when Black people have been behind the wheel.
Think of Jim Crow, when taking public transportation meant segregation and harassment. Owning a car meant a degree of independence, privacy, and dignity. Black drivers regularly faced violence. White people vandalized cars to put Black drivers in “their place.” The KKK and other hate groups planted bombs in cars, targeting civil rights activists like George Metcalfe in 1965.
“If you engage in domestic terrorism, this Department of Justice will find you,” says Pam Bondi. But yesterday’s survivors of car bombings, or today’s drivers assaulted by police, risk death. What is at risk for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man?
When the state presents “dangers” like these, it’s a useful practice to ask yourself who’s actually in danger—and what matters more, people or property?