Lipstick-Wearing Arson Suspect Charged in Attacks on Tesla Dealership, GOP Office in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — A lipstick-wearing New Mexico man has been federally charged in connection with two politically charged arson attacks — one at a Tesla dealership and the other at the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters.

Jamison Wagner, 40, was arrested Saturday by FBI counterterrorism agents and now faces two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives, each carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Wagner allegedly firebombed the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom on Feb. 9, setting two vehicles ablaze and defacing the building with swastikas and graffiti reading “Die Elon” and “Tesla Nazi Inc.” On March 30, he allegedly attacked the GOP state headquarters, damaging the front entrance and spray-painting the phrase “ICE = KKK” on the building.

Federal agents linked Wagner to both attacks through surveillance footage and vehicle identification. A search of his residence uncovered multiple suspected incendiary devices, a stencil matching graffiti found at the scene, and other incriminating evidence.

Attorney General Pam Bondi called the attacks acts of “domestic terrorism” and said Wagner would not be offered a plea deal.

“Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence,” Bondi said in a DOJ statement. “We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI Albuquerque Field Office are jointly investigating the case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and the New Mexico Department of Justice.

Numerous additional agencies responded to the arson scenes or otherwise provided valuable assistance, including the Santa Ana Pueblo Police Department, the Sandoval County Fire Department, the New Mexico State Fire Marshals Office, Albuquerque Fire Rescue, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Elena Stiteler and Nicholas Mote for the District of New Mexico and Trial Attorney Patrick Cashman of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.