NEW MEXICO CITY, ALBUQUERQUE — The entrance to the Republican Party of New Mexico’s headquarters in Albuquerque was damaged by fire early Sunday morning. The fire is being looked into by federal officials.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Cody, said Monday that agents working with local police found “incendiary materials” at the scene. He wouldn’t say what the items were or give any more information.
In the past few weeks, there have been many acts of vandalism against Tesla, the electric car business whose owner, Elon Musk, is leading President Trump’s efforts to cut the federal workforce. Molotov cocktails were used to start fires at stores in a number of those cases. Lawyer for the US government Pam Bondi called it a “wave of domestic terrorism.”
Property with Elon Musk’s electric car company’s name on it is being broken into all over the world and in the United States. Tesla showrooms, car lots, charging stations, and privately owned cars have all been attacked, but no one has been hurt.
Lt. Jason Fejer with Albuquerque Fire Rescue said that firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire just before 6 a.m. and put it out in about five minutes.
No one was in the building at the time, and no one was hurt. Fejer and Republican Party representatives say that the fire badly burned the entrance and left a lot of smoke damage throughout the office, where three people work full-time.
Representatives from the GOP sent a picture of the burned-out front door of the building, with pieces of wood and burned insulation lying around on the ground. A door that was broken and on fire was put to the side.
Amy Barela, Chair of the New Mexico Republican Party, said that the fire was found by the office’s security system. She praised the rescuers for putting out the fire quickly and stopping it from spreading.
Fires are a foolish thing to do, according to Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller.
“Any crime motivated by politics is unacceptable, and I appreciate how quickly our fire department responded,” the Democrat mayor said in a statement Sunday afternoon. “The federal government is looking into this, and I urge anyone with information to come forward right away.”
Barela said that GOP officials also found the words “ICE=KKK” written in spray paint on the side of the building about 15 meters (50 feet) from the front door. Monday, the ATF spokesman wouldn’t say anything about the graffiti.
