Writer For New York Mag Complains About Demographic Replacement
Oblivious to this fact
New York City has met many challenges in its history as the capital of capital.
The constant problem that surrounds the city is that with great wealth comes great political profligacy. It is not the first time New York has found itself staring down a time for choosing at the barrel of a gun.
Trump hasn’t yet nicknamed Zohran Mamdani ‘Mad-Mani,’ but whatever he’s called, he’s a real threat to the city.
Tom Wolfe captured the “radical chic” and “mau-mauing” of the compromised big-city life in America, most obviously in San Francisco and New York. But Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his capable chieftains snuffed out the bonfire of the vanities through such commonsense policies like fixing broken windows policing, CompStat, and welfare to work — commonsense policies that fueled an urban renaissance, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg inherited, embraced, and built upon over his three terms.
Somehow, New York voters forgot what unbridled crime in the streets and rampant racialist and redistributionist policies in city hall did to their quality of life. And so they elected Bill de Blasio as mayor. As promised, he swiftly began dismantling the regime of good governance that had made the city great again.
Eric Adams was elected precisely because the people of New York City wanted a return to law-and-order sanity after eight years of de Blasio’s progressive dumpster fire. Sadly, Adams proved to be too ethically compromised to effectively resist the flood of illegal immigrants — many of whom were dispatched on border state buses — who filled the Port Authority. Housed in luxury hotels at taxpayers’ expense, they tested New York City’s sanctuary resolve.
Motivated by his political survival instincts, Adams’ spine stiffened. Conveniently, he was summarily whacked with a federal indictment. “More lawfare!” said his defenders. “Just following the facts where they lead,” countered the Justice Department careerists.
Nevertheless, Adams and Donald Trump found common purpose — and this triggered Democrats in general and progressives in particular. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), naturally, called for Adams to step down “for the good of the city.” You know, the new mantra of the left: guilty until proven innocent.
What are the political odds of Mayor Adams winning against the Democratic Party blob that has just nominated 33-year-old anti-Israel, Marxist Zohran Mamdani as its mayoral nominee? Not good. Right now, far from a coin toss.
RELATED: Mamdani’s socialist New York sounds great — if you don’t have kids

Adams and New York City have four months to mount a credible, winning opposition. It’s a window of political opportunity that would not exist if it were not for Trump gratuitously playing a lawfare card of his own in the form of a timely presidential pardon, giving Adams a new lease on life — and New Yorkers a last chance to inhabit a livable city.
Trump hasn’t yet nicknamed Mamdani “Mad-Mani,” so I’ll go ahead and do it for him. Whatever he’s called, he’s a real threat to the city. Peter Orszag spoke for many successful business executives — the ones responsible for New York’s financial health. Appearing on CNBC, Lazard’s CEO revealed how troubling he found Mad-Mani’s “globalize the intifada” language — not to mention the would-be mayor’s antipathy for free-market capitalism and dislike for the wealthy.
Orszag strongly hinted that his firm, and all the public and cultural goods that it underwrites, could relocate to more friendly climes. Florida beckons.
What have this longtime Democrat in good standing and others, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), been hearing from the socialist-friendly new guard?
It’s “they” — the old guard — who are no longer in charge of New York City politics. The Brooklyn progressives are running things now. Atop the pyramid is the new Adam and Eve, political power couple Mad-Mani and AOC. The vibe they send out is that they would happily have the old guard acquiesce to their agenda or move to Boca Raton.
What does this ascendant power couple hold to be shared and self-evident? For them, Israel and America are both apartheid states, and capitalism is the engine of inequality. And this anti-Semitic, anti-capitalist, anti-American power couple is trending on Instagram and just won the Democratic primary. AOC is coming for you, Chuck.
Why do Democrats hold fast to obvious falsehoods? The answer is that they are repeating what they have been taught in school, from Head Start to college classes. This is what most American kids are being taught, unless they were homeschooled, took the Catholic school route, or went to Hillsdale College.
Schumer and Orszag know this, as do untold numbers of sensible, centrist Democrats. Many of them know the “Chicken for KFC” mindset firsthand in their own families and that their kids, grandkids, and wives are voting for this madness. The intifada chicken has come home to politically roost — and on your watch and with your wallet.
A new coalition of sanity needs to be built and built quickly. New York is worth fighting for and saving.
While conservatives and centrists were shaking their heads in mirth at the spectacle of “Dykes for Palestine,” AOC was still basking in the spotlight for successfully derailing a proposal from Amazon to build a second headquarters in Queens, adjacent to her congressional district. Not because she wanted the jobs in her Bronx district, but because she didn’t want them in New York City at all. Mind you, this was a project so beneficial to the area — it included some 25,000 jobs — that not only was Andrew Cuomo for it, but so was Bill de Blasio. AOC, though, was content to invoke the specter of “corporate greed,” which is what passes for reasoned debate among this generation of young Democrats.
RELATED: New York City’s likely next mayor wants to ‘globalize the intifada’

The reality is that New York City Council, and the protest industrial complex surrounding it, has gotten a lot younger. They are the ones doing the work, organizing, showing up, and winning elections. The Democratic Party is nothing without the protest industrial complex. George Soros and his son pay well and seem to have a taste for chaos.
The progressive ramparts have their favorites. They want true believers running things.
Sorry, Chuck, they are not that into you anymore. Truth be told, they never were.
Although New York has not had a viable two-party system for a long time, when things get bad enough, New Yorkers turn to a law-and-order Republican like Giuliani or an independent like Mike Bloomberg. But do NYC voters really need to wait for all those broken windows — and the chaos it symbolizes — to materialize again before waking up?
It is time for New Yorkers’ wallets to shut tight on Mamdani and open wide for Adams. A new coalition of sanity needs to be built and built quickly. New York is worth fighting for and saving. Its future hangs on the choice those who have not yet left make now.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
A 20-year-old woman who wants to remain anonymous told WCBS-TV about her terrifying experience that began as she was heading to the Norwood Avenue subway station in Brooklyn on her way to her lifeguard job.
Suddenly a male — a complete stranger to the woman — began violating her.
'What was going through my head was, like, ''I'm just not going to see my family again.'' That was it, I was just not gonna see my family.'
"And he's putting his arms around me, and I'm pushing him off of me, and I'm like, 'I don't know you,'" she told the station.
The woman added to WCBS that when she was on the platform waiting for her train, the male reappeared.
"He's like, 'Come on, let's go.' And I'm like, 'I don't know you,'" the woman recalled to the station. "He comes close to my face, and he's like, 'You don't know me.'"
WCBS said the victim argued with her assailant, told him to get away — and then he grabbed her.
"When the train came, like I said, he got more aggressive, and that's when he, like, bear-hugged me to the point where, like, my arms are restricted," she recounted to the station. "The only thing he just kept saying was, 'You're mine now, you're mine now, you're coming with me, you're coming with me.'"
A witness captured video of the attack, and in it the woman can be heard screaming.
Rondel Whitfield told WCBS in an initial story that he was on his way to church when he witnessed the attack in progress and soon got involved.
"I said, 'Brother, please, just let the lady go. You know what I'm saying? Let the lady go.' He's like, 'No.' He just started being real barbaric. Like, I've never seen nothing like that in my life," Whitfield recounted to the station.
The New York Post said "several men" gathered on the elevated platform and hollered at the attacker to let the woman go. The paper said the attacker allegedly shoved the woman to the ground and bear-hugged her as she tried to run away a second time, according to police and prosecutors.
"What was going through my head was, like, 'I'm just not going to see my family again.' That was it, I was just not gonna see my family," the victim told WCBS in a subsequent interview. "That's why I called my mom."
The bystanders then pulled the victim away from her attacker, police told the Post, adding that they appeared to hit him as one of them yelled, "I'm gonna f**k you up!" Video shows men on top of the attacker punching and stomping him.
"Somebody try to tell you something, chill the f**k out?" one of the men is heard saying in the aftermath of the beatdown, the paper added. "Now you got it!"
The woman finally was able to escape and is seen in the clip running to the other end of the platform and crying on the phone with her mother, the Post said.
"She was just saying, 'Mom, he's trying to take me, he's trying to take me,' and I'm, like, trying to run to her as fast as I can," the victim's mother recounted to WCBS.
The victim noted to the station that she got to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority booth, and an MTA worker helped her get inside it for safety and then moved her into another room until police arrived.
"About the guys that stepped in, I'm very, very, very thankful because without them, I would not be home," the victim recounted to the station.
Police said the victim complained of shoulder pain and suffered minor injuries to her stomach and arms, WCBS reported, adding that her mother said that while her daughter is traumatized, she's been able to go to work.
"I'm very, very grateful for those that were there helping my daughter," the mother told the station. "I am so, so, so, so grateful 'cause if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have my child today."
The video below is from the follow-up WCBS story and includes an interview with the victim.
Police have identified the suspect as 42-year-old Fredrick Marshall of Queens, WCBS said. Police told the station that the suspect had a knife and blackjack on him. A blackjack is frequently described as a leather stick weighted with lead that's used for striking.
While Marshall has been charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree assault, and second-degree harassment, the Brooklyn district attorney's office told the station that the charges aren't bail eligible, and Marshall has been on supervised release.
"It's unacceptable," the victim told the station in regard to the suspect being set free. "It's really insane to me how they could just release somebody after they did that."
BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre had the following to say about the incident and its aftermath.
"Many people have asked 'Where have all the good men gone? Why aren't they protecting women?' Everyone saw what happened to Daniel Penny for protecting his fellow subway passengers," MacIntyre told Blaze News. "Now these men have stepped up and protected a defenseless woman, but her attacker is immediately out on the streets. This is anarcho-tyranny. The people of New York City are governed by disastrous progressive polices that get innocent people killed."
The victim also told WCBS that her employer has been paying for her to take Ubers to work and that she wants to see more of a police presence at subway stations.
"I still haven't fully processed what happened to me," she added to WCBS.
The station said the victim is working on getting an order of protection from the DA's office.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Among the biggest stories of the moment is the increasing deluge of Tesla vehicle vandalism — and worse.
Ever since the car company's CEO, Elon Musk, earlier this year joined President Donald Trump's team as the leader of the DOGE — the Department of Government Efficiency — and began cutbacks, leftists far and wide have been losing their minds.
'We don't allow people to act out based on what they believe their political affiliations are and what upsets them and who they are upset with, and allow them to take things into their own hands and become essentially a vigilante. ... What does that say about our country?'
One of the ways they've carried out their anger is vandalism of Tesla cars, primarily by "keying" them — scraping keys or other hard objects against the exterior surface as the offenders walk by.
Blaze News has looked at example after example of this woke phenomenon, and ironically Tesla's onboard Sentry Mode has caught the crooks red-handed, as the technology can record video of activity outside the vehicles.
For example, police in Lakewood, Colorado, arrested Shaydan Hessner and charged the 29-year-old for criminal tampering after video showed a Tesla Cybertruck getting keyed last month in the parking lot of the Colorado Mills Mall, KDVR-TV reported.

Indeed, similar acts have been occurring at an alarming pace. Blaze News has noted documented attacks against Tesla — including arson and vandalism — as well as leftist violence against the cars in more than 20 states.
Here's a rundown, just for starters:
The following are further examples, fleshed out with more detail, of the left's recent lawlessness.
A 70-year-old male at a Tesla dealership protest in Meridian, Idaho, is accused of driving his car into a counterprotester, KIVI-TV reported. Christopher Talbot of Meridian made an "obscene gesture" toward a 49-year-old man before hitting the man with his car at the dealership on Franklin Road around 1 p.m. Saturday, the station said, citing the Meridian Police Department.
KIVI said the victim had just parked his truck — which was decorated with flags supporting President Donald Trump — and exited the vehicle when Talbot allegedly hit him with his car. The victim then transported himself to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the station said. The victim took note of Talbot's license plate, after which police went to Talbot's residence and arrested him, KIVI said.
Talbot was booked into the Ada County Jail and charged with one count of aggravated battery, the station said. He was not granted bail.
At the time of the incident, about 30 Tesla protesters and about 200 counterprotesters were gathered at the dealership, KBOI-TV reported, adding that the victim was identified as a counterprotester. You can view a video report here about the incident.
Video caught the moment when a male riding an ATV slammed it into a Tesla vehicle. The suspect reportedly vandalized other Teslas the same day. Police in Texarkana, Texas, arrested 33-year-old Demarkeyun Marquize Cox on March 25 on charges of criminal mischief and failure to identify/giving false information. Jail records indicate Cox stands 5'2" and weighs 449 pounds. His total bond is $105,000.
Police said Cox's rampage began at the Golden Place restaurant on Summerhill Road, where he was captured on the Tesla's surveillance footage ramming into it at full speed. They were investigating the incident when police got a report of another Tesla damaged in a Lowe's parking lot. Police said soon after they saw a man fitting the provided description riding an ATV near the intersection of Summerhill and New Boston Roads. When they questioned Cox, he reportedly gave them a false name. Police got a third report of Tesla vandalism near Genesis Prime Care on College Drive after they arrested Cox. Police also said that the word "Elon" was scratched into two vehicles.
You can view a video report here from WBIR-TV about the arrest.
A 61-year-old Tesla driver told KTVK-TV a male motorist recently cut her off, boxed her in, then exited his car and repeatedly punched her on a busy road in Flagstaff, Arizona. The woman, who wants to remain anonymous and went by the alias "Susan," explained to the station that she was on Route 66 when another vehicle started chasing her.
KTVK said Susan has video of the incident, and it shows a motorist in a green car pulling up next to her and then swerving in front of her and boxing her in. Susan told the station that the motorist then exited his car, walked over to her as she was behind the wheel of her Tesla, and then began punching her.
Susan told the station she soon bit her attacker's hand; indeed, video shows the male at one point pulling his hand away from the Tesla and shaking it. Moments later, video shows the male motorist's passenger exiting the green car and pulling the attacker away, after which the pair drive off.
Flagstaff police cited the suspect, who was due in court March 31, the station said.
A statement from police said officers responded to reports of "a road rage incident that escalated into a violent encounter" around 12:30 p.m. March 19, KSAZ-TV reported, adding that investigators said the incident involved a Tesla and a Chevrolet Cavalier.
"The driver of the Cavalier, later identified as Robert Artherton, 33, of Flagstaff, drove in front of the Tesla, causing both vehicles to stop in the roadway," the statement said in part, KSAZ reported, adding that Artherton exited his vehicle and approached the driver’s side of the Tesla, after which a confrontation ensued.
KSAZ said both parties gave conflicting accounts regarding what took place, and police said they both suffered minor injuries. "All parties involved allege that the incident was triggered by driving behaviors, honking, and disorderly hand gestures," officials said in the statement, KSAZ noted.
"Mr. Artherton was arrested via a criminal citation for disorderly conduct, assault, and aggressive driving in lieu of detention due to seeking medical attention for an injury to his hand," the statement said in part, according to KSAZ.
KTVK reported that another female Tesla owner said she recently departed a Flagstaff grocery store and found a note on her car that read, “She’s a Nazi and a loser.” A few weeks later, she received a threatening text calling her a “Racist POS," the station said.
KTVK said both Tesla owners also signed up for a gun safety course at Timberline Firearms, which is north of Flagstaff.
“They were targeted because they drove a Tesla and, as a result, felt quite vulnerable,” shop owner Rob Wilson told KTVK. “They were surprised someone would do something like that and realized if they were doing it, and targeting them because of car they drive, they needed to take additional measures to protect themselves.”
You can view a video report here about what happened to both Tesla drivers.
The family of 18-year-old Abigail Gill owns a Tesla Model X because its automated driving function helps her drive more easily, the Wichita Eagle reported. Abigail has spinal muscular atrophy, and she uses a wheelchair, the paper said.
Abigail was out to eat with her mother, brother, and boyfriend on March 20, the paper said, after which they noticed the Tesla had been keyed deeply on both sides. Video connected to the Tesla showed that a male who had been sitting next to them had left the restaurant, keyed the passenger side of the Tesla, went back inside, came out again, and keyed the other side of the Tesla, then then picked up his family, the Eagle said.
Video also picked up the suspected culprit's face as well as the license plate of his car, she also told the Eagle.
Johnathan F. Erhart, 30, was charged with one count of criminal damage to property on March 28, the paper said. If convicted, he could be sentenced from five to 17 months in prison, the Eagle said, citing Kansas sentencing guidelines.
"It’s a super saddening and disappointing thing to see," Abigail told Fox News regarding the incident. You can view a video report about the incident here, which includes an interview with Abigail and security video of the culprit caught in the act.
A male was caught on Tesla security video spray-painting graffiti on the Tesla in a Whole Foods parking lot in Berkeley, California, KGO-TV reported, adding that the incident took place March 16 and paint cans can be seen in both of the culprit's hands.
The Tesla owner, who identified himself as Hiroshi, told the station, "I wasn't shocked because this has been happening so frequently. Even the police, when they showed up, both officers are Tesla owners as well. They expressed to me that they've been dealing with this so much. It's like a trend."
Berkeley police have not identified the suspect, KGO said, adding that Hiroshi noted that he had the spray paint removed and is remaining loyal to Tesla. In fact, he told the station he plans to expedite his order for Tesla's new Cybertruck.
You can view a video report here about the incident.
A Tesla Cybertruck owner who did not want to give his name told WZZM-TV that on March 15 he found a hateful message written on his vehicle at an undisclosed location in Western Michigan's Kent County.
The message read, "F**k off Nazi." You can view a video report here about the incident.
“We were out with my friends having dinner and drinks and come out to the vehicle with the message on the window," he told WZZM, adding that "there were people around the truck and taking photos and a lot of people laughing. It was very disappointing and frustrating.” He added to the station that his friends were "were embarrassed about it.”
The victim also told WZZM that he ordered the $100,000 Cybertruck four years ago, well prior to Elon Musk's work with the Trump administration. While the station said he didn't share his political views, he also said it doesn't matter: “Everyone works hard for what they have, and regardless of their political views, we should respect that.”
He also told WZZM that he has no plans to sell his Tesla to avoid such incidents: “I’m not going to let people tell me what I should buy or not buy.”
Still, he told the station that every day "I do get a lot of middle fingers" and that "it does not bother me as much when I’m by myself, but when we have kids inside the car, it’s kind of disappointing ... and sad.”
The victim told WZZM he plans to turn in the video to police. The Kent County Prosecutor's Office noted to the station that punishment for such an offense could result in a charge of malicious destruction of property.
A male who appeared to be protesting against Elon Musk's political activity accidentally lit himself on fire while trying to vandalize electronic vehicle charging stations, according to South Carolina police.
The incident unfolded on March 13 at the Tesla charging stations near a Mellow Mushroom pizzeria in northern Charleston. The male wrote "Free Ukraine" as well as another message against President Donald Trump with an expletive included, according to a report from the North Charleston Police Department.
Police said the male lit material stuffed into beer bottles and threw them at the stations. Witnesses told police the male lit himself on fire by accident and then fled from the scene.
Firefighters cut power to the chargers and then extinguished the fire. Investigators collected beer bottles from the alleged attack and had been trying to lift fingerprints from the glass. Police estimated that the male caused about $60,000 in damage to the charging stations.
Daniel Clarke-Pounder, 24, of James Island was arrested and charged with arson in connection with the incident, according to a March 14 news release from the U.S. Justice Department. Clarke-Pounder faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
A mother on her way to a doctor's appointment on March 19 in Lynnwood, Washington, told KCPQ-TV a male wearing a ski mask and a camouflage jacket harassed her in a scary incident because she was driving a Tesla.
Leigh, a Tesla owner for the last two years, added to the station, "He gets out and walks straight up to my door window. So I cracked my window, and I said, ‘What? What is the problem?’ He goes, ‘You need to sell your car. This is a Nazi car. You're driving it, you need to sell your car.’"
Leigh recounted to KCPQ, "I could only see his eyes. ... I had no idea if I was safe or not. I felt very threatened."
You can view a video report here about the incident; it includes a clip of the masked male in question approaching her Tesla.
A week prior in Lynnwood, a number of Tesla Cybertrucks were spray-painted with graffiti and swastikas at a Tesla Service Station, KIRO-TV reported. The owner of one of the vandalized cars told the station that "as a gay Jewish person, I was kind of taken aback." The victim posted photos of the vandalism on X.
The new video — which was livestreamed to Facebook — shows the Tesla owner allegedly confronting the suspect, who tells the owner, "I can wipe it off with a towel — it's not a key, it's a crayon." He added to the Tesla owner, "It didn't even work."
But the Tesla owner explains that his car is being fingerprinted by the police "right now," after which the confronted male asks, "What do you mean it's being fingerprinted?"
The Tesla owner said police were trying to "track" the suspect down but noted that Facebook users tracked him down.
“I’m sorry. I have nothing against your car, and I have nothing against you," the suspect is heard saying on video.
The Tesla owner asks the alleged suspect why he would scratch a swastika on his Tesla, after which the confronted male replies, "Obviously, I have something against Elon Musk" and admits that his actions were "misguided."
The Central Bucks Regional Police Department said in a statement that the suspect was identified by his gym membership identification card and his Pennsylvania driver's license. A criminal complaint was filed, and police on March 27 issued an arrest warrant for 55-year-old Chadd Ritenbaugh, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was hit with charges of criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and two counts of harassment.
A masked male was caught on video spray-painting the word "Nazi" on both sides of a Tesla Cybertruck in the middle of the night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, KFOR-TV reported.
Tulsa police said officers were called to a Residence Inn at 3:20 a.m. March 11, the station said, adding that the Cybertruck owner received a notification on her phone that someone was tampering with her vehicle. The suspect fled by the time she got to the parking lot, KFOR said.
You can view a video report here about the incident. Those with information about the person responsible can contact Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS with the reference number 2025-011539.
A Texas Tesla owner has filed a $1 million civil lawsuit against the male accused of keying his Model X last month when it was parked at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, KTVT-TV reported.
DFW Airport Police arrested Rafael Hernandez in late March and charged him with criminal mischief, the station said, adding that the accused is expected to make his first court appearance on April 8. In the lawsuit, the Tesla owner is identified only by his initials due to fear of threats, KTVT added.
Majed Nachawati, managing partner with the Nachawati Legal Group in Dallas, which is representing the Tesla owner, told the station that "this matter has nothing to do with his political persuasions or affiliations. He happens to believe that Tesla, his Model X, is one of the best cars he's ever owned. And he enjoys driving it, plain and simple."
The Tesla's onboard camera captured images of a male holding a key fob and appearing to use it to vandalize the vehicle, the station said. The car's owner shared video of the alleged vandalism on social media, hoping to identify the culprit, after which it went viral and led to Hernandez's arrest, KTVK said.
"It's just kind of mind-boggling to me that there are people who are so triggered and so disturbed by anything these days that they can go so far as to just cause harm to somebody," the car's owner told the station soon after the incident.
More from KTVK:
Attorneys for the Tesla owner whose car was keyed said attacks on private individuals due to political disagreements cannot be tolerated. They acknowledged that the vehicle itself is not worth $1 million, but admit their client also wants to send a message with the lawsuit. He's hoping to discourage other acts of violence.
"We don't allow people to act out based on what they believe their political affiliations are and what upsets them and who they are upset with, and allow them to take things into their own hands and become essentially a vigilante. ... What does that say about our country?" Nachawati said. "Whether you're a Republican, whether you're a Democrat, I believe anyone who sees the video and who sees what happened would believe that deterrence would be the biggest part of this case."
A male caught on video keying a Tesla in the parking lot of a Houston Whole Foods on Feb. 13 confessed to the crime but told KPRC-TV that his actions weren't politically motivated.
Nicholas Carrion told the station that his behavior was the result of road rage after he said the Tesla driver cut him off, and he decided to follow her into the Whole Foods parking lot.
“I felt anger because the woman cut me off. We were both going into the Whole Foods, so I did not follow her directly. I got out and went to the store,” Carrion noted to KPRC. “But after I did my shopping, I came back outside and just couldn’t let it go.”
Carrion is now facing charges of felony criminal mischief — not terrorism charges — for the damage he caused to the woman’s Tesla, the station said. Carrion sent the following message to the victim: “I did not mean to cause you that much fear. This was in no way politically motivated. I just hope you are able to live a normal life and not be in fear to just do normal activities and drive around in the Tesla.”
The victim, however, told KPRC she had no prior knowledge of any road rage incident, expressed disbelief, and said if she had been aware of a confrontation, she wouldn't have left her car unattended in the parking lot. You can view a video report here about the new developments.
An unidentified individual wearing a face mask was caught on video March 16 scrawling, "This car supports Nazis," on a Tesla vehicle in downtown Syracuse, WSTM-TV reported.
“Protesting is a right that we all have, but destroying people’s property is not," the car owner, Shawn Freed, told the station in an interview.
Freed posted the video of the vandalism to his X account, after which Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg reposted the clip.
Despite the hassle, Freed told WSTM he's not getting rid of his car: "In some ways, I see myself as someone who is a voice for the other people who are innocent bystanders who have their property destroyed."
Freed added to the station that he reported the vandalism to Syracuse police, who are investigating. You can check out a video report here about the incident, which also includes the interview with Freed.
The Tesla's owner said the alleged gum-wad vandalism was captured on the built-in cameras of his car, which was in the parking garage of the JCPenney store at the Aventura Mall around 12:45 p.m. March 22.
Yamaris Marrero, 45, of Hallandale Beach was arrested and charged with a felony. Police said she was identified through the video, which showed a vandal smearing the large wad of gum on the car's door handle and then spitting on it. She was also seen getting into a white Honda Pilot before leaving the garage. The Tesla's owner said the damage from the gum rendered the door handle inoperable.
The police report said a security guard spotted Marrero at the mall food court on March 27, after which she was arrested. Police said she made an admission that was redacted from the publicly released report.
Marrero originally was charged for criminal mischief with a hate crime enhancement, but that was dropped on March 28, and the charge was lowered from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony. She was held on a $2,500 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The Tesla's owner told WPLG-TV that politics probably motivated the vandalism and that there was no personal interaction between him and the accused woman; police said it was not a traffic dispute.
The interview with the Tesla owner can be viewed on WPLG's video report on YouTube, while the video of the woman smearing the gum can be viewed on an earlier news report.
A witness told Seattle police that on the night of March 13, a male threw gasoline on a Tesla Model S in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood, lit the car on fire, and ran off, KING-TV reported.
Police told the station the right front tire area was damaged, while the quarter panel, the hood, and the car's battery all melted. The Seattle Fire Department put out the fire, KING said, adding that police said they are investigating the incident as arson.
The suspect has not been identified, the station said, adding that police found the gas can nearby and obtained security images of the suspect carrying the gas can and a plastic bag.
You can view a video report here about the incident.
An "old man" who was caught on video keying a Tesla in San Jose, California, was arrested for his "act of felony vandalism."
The incident happened in a Costco parking lot between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. March 14, KRON-TV reported, citing the owner of the vandalized Tesla. The now-viral video shows a male with white hair and a white beard and wearing a USA jacket using a key to scratch the exterior of the Tesla vehicle.
A second video shows a similar-looking male wearing the same jacket getting confronted about the incident, and he denies involvement. The title of the pair of videos is "WATCH THIS: Old man who keyed Tesla in San Jose is confronted."
San Jose Police announced on the night of March 17 that "we successfully identified, located, and arrested the individual responsible for this act of felony vandalism."
You can view KRON's video report here about the incident.
A male was "under investigation" after allegedly keying a Tesla Cybertruck at ritzy mountain resort in New Hampshire in March.
The culprit was caught on video allegedly dragging a key across the vehicle outside the Omni Mountain Resort & Spa in Bretton Woods, Fox News reported.
You can view video here of the alleged vandalism.
The Tesla owner, Kerri Pouliot, told Fox News that she and her husband "were told at the time of the incident that they would be getting a warrant" for the male suspect's arrest.
Pouliot recorded a video when police arrived at the scene, and an officer can be heard asking, "Do you want to talk about what happened here?" the cable network reported.
The accused vandal snapped back, "No, I don’t know what happened," Fox News said.
Police then told the man that they "had him on video," after which the male replied, "I don't know what happened," the cable network noted.
Carroll Police Chief Tadd Bailey told the New Hampshire Union Leader that "the incident is under investigation by us and the Coos County Attorney’s Office," Fox News added.
Pouliot told the cable network that she and her husband have "no intentions of ever selling our truck." Omni Mountain Resort & Spa could not be reached for comment, Fox News said.
A couple in Eugene, Oregon, told KEZI-TV that they found their Tesla vehicles vandalized and spray-painted with the words “divest” and “depose" on the morning of March 20. The couple requested anonymity to protect their safety and added to the station that a camera on their property caught a person approaching the vehicles before dawn. They also said there has been a rise in people being aggressive to them on the road, KEZI reported.
“This is really unfortunate that someone feels they need to vandalize and cost somebody time and money,” one of the victims told the station. “I feel very violated. We’re regular people, we live and work in this community, we contribute to community service.”
The couple added to KEZI that while their vehicles are being repaired, they had to take them to Portland — a nearly two-hour drive — because their insurance company advised them to keep the Teslas away from Eugene. Still, despite the hassle and heartache, the couple told the station they’re happy with their Tesla vehicles and are planning to keep them.
You can view a video report here about the incident.
A federal grand jury charged a Salem, Oregon, male with arson after authorities accused him of throwing Molotov cocktails at a local Tesla dealership, the Salem Reporter said.
Adam M. Lansky, 41, now faces two charges of attempted arson in addition to an earlier charge of possession of an unregistered destructive device, the outlet said, citing an indictment filed in Portland U.S. District Court on March 18.
In the new federal case, Lansky is charged with unlawfully possessing a Molotov cocktail and two counts of attempted arson — one for the Tesla dealership building and the second for a Tesla vehicle, the Reporter said.
Lansky was arrested March 4 after a federal investigation linked him to the attempted arson on Jan. 20 and gunshots that destroyed windows on Feb. 19, according to a previous statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the outlet added
More from the Reporter:
Surveillance footage from the dealership on the morning of the arson showed a man lighting around seven Molotov cocktails and throwing them at Tesla vehicles and the dealership. The man also threw a rock at the dealership’s windows, breaking the glass.
The incident caused around $500,000 in damage, including damaging seven Tesla cars, the complaint said.
Lansky is in custody at Yamhill County Jail, according to the county jail roster, and records show he's scheduled to appear in court April 3, the outlet reported. You can view a video report here on the case.
A male wearing all black torched at least five Tesla vehicles with Molotov cocktails and then shot at them just before 3 a.m. March 18, Las Vegas police said, adding that the incident took place at a Tesla Service Center on West Badura Avenue.
The word "resist" was also spray-painted in red onto the door of the service center. A photo on social media showed the vandalism.
Paul Hyon Kim, 36, appeared in court March 27 to face federal arson charges in connection with the incident, the Department of Justice said. Kim faces up to 20 years in prison on the arson charge alone; he also was charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm.
A 62-year-old male was charged with criminal damage for allegedly keying a Tesla vehicle last month in a Gilbert, Arizona, parking lot — and the incident was caught on the car's video system, KTVK-TV reported.
The Tesla owner, Shant Janesian, noticed the damage on his car, then viewed video recorded by his vehicle, the station said, adding that the culprit keyed his Tesla at SanTan Village.
Janesian filed a report with Gilbert Police, and in addition to viewing the Tesla video, investigators also used surveillance video from surrounding businesses prior to arresting David Moller, KTVK reported.
"Just because something that has nothing to do with me, and he’s just going around keying Teslas over certain political reasons, and it's just like, 'Dude, you don’t even know anything about me,'" Janesian told the station in the aftermath.
KTVK asked the victim what he would say to Moller, and Janesian replied, “Was it worth it? Like, was it worth it? Did you really get anything out of it? Did it really help your cause? Whatever you’re against, or ... was it just a dumb mistake?”
Janesian told the station he'll continue to drive his Tesla. You can view a video report here about the incident.
A video shows a male slamming a suitcase against a Model Y Tesla in a parking lot at Ontario International Airport in southern California, which caused $3,000 in damage.
The Daily Press report cited a March 19 post on X from Spotted Model: Cars & Tech which includes two videos and two still images related to the vandalism that allegedly took place at 9:25 p.m. March 2 in parking lot No. 3.
One video shows the male walking in the parking lot with a suitcase, and he suddenly slams the suitcase into the vehicle and then walks away.
"Although it’s dark, we have lots of detail here, including his suitcase, the logo on his shirt, and a pretty clear facial visual. Unfortunately, police have made little progress in identifying him," the post notes, adding that "in just about any other car, the owner would be out of luck. With Sentry Mode we’ve got a good chance of finding this guy with your help. On behalf of the owner and his family, thank you!"
The paper said airport and city officials have not yet responded to messages about the incident.
A man from Garner, North Carolina, told WRAL-TV his Tesla recently was vandalized.
The station on March 23 reported that the Tesla owner — who gave the station only his first name, Jeremy, since he feared for his safety — that someone etched the word “Nazi” into his Tesla.
“I was working from home, and my wife was out running some errands. [She] came home, and as she was coming in past the car, she saw the damage to it,” Jeremy told WRAL. “We immediately started reviewing the footage from the car because it does have Sentry Mode, but unfortunately we didn’t see anything.”
Jeremy told the station he's not sure when his Tesla was vandalized. He added to WRAL that police also found nothing while checking surveillance videos from stores he's visited.
“I bought this back in 2019 and paid it off a month ago,” he added to WRAL. “This was back in the time when Elon was just some guy tweeting about rocket motors and fast cars and wasn’t problematic at the time.”
A vandal was caught on surveillance video keying three Tesla vehicles last month outside a shopping plaza in Bradenton, Florida, WFLA-TV reported.
You can view a video report here about the incident, which took place in the parking lot of Pinebrook Commons and caused more than $7,000 in damages, police said.
“Two of the Tesla owners, father and son, they were just there enjoying dinner," Bradenton Police Department Public Information Officer Meredith Censullo told the station. "And then there was a third Tesla owner who was, you know, shopping or doing something within that plaza."
Censullo added to WFLA that "it would certainly appear like these cars were chosen because they were Tesla vehicles. At the end of the day, though, it is completely unacceptable to damage anyone’s car."
Tesla owner Russell Blackburn told the station he's concerned: “It has been on my brain, you know, going out to public places. So when I go out with people, I ask them, ‘Do you mind driving?’ Because I don’t want to leave my car unattended."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Five years ago today, I became a Christian.
There wasn’t much ceremony — a lovely Episcopal parish church in Brooklyn, just me and the priest. Save God himself, nobody else was there. COVID-19 had come to town.
'Dovie,' a friend texted me, 'you might die. You need to get this done.' He was not wrong.
Have you ever seen time stand still? It looks like something out of “The Flash”: You’re moving, slowly, but everything around you comes to a halt. Or it looks like the end of a zombie flick, with the streets bare save a few straggling survivors. It’s eerie.
Eerie is how I’d describe hearing the voicemail of one of my closest friends from college, saying goodbye. Eerie is how I’d describe visiting that friend in the psych ward after the suicide attempt thankfully failed. Your blood runs cold, and the wall between life and death becomes very porous indeed.
You see Hades in those moments. But I saw something else: God, Jesus Christ, calling me to come to a new home. His home. The church.
I began to go to an Episcopal church in Brooklyn that a close friend of mine had recommended to me. I’d visited churches before, to enjoy the music and community. But before 2019, becoming a parishioner, becoming a Christian, that was never going to happen.
Former Orthodox Jews don't become Christians. That’s no knock on the People of the Book — Christ and the apostles were Jews, as were some great saints. But if a Jewish fellow today wants to be edgy, he becomes an atheist. If he wants to believe in something, he becomes a Buddhist. Christianity is, generally, off the cultural radar.
But who was I to say no? A vague belief in a higher power wasn’t the God I was beginning to know and love again in a new way. My time at the church, going to services every Sunday, started to burn faith into my soul like a cattle brand. After several months, I spoke with the rector, and we decided on an Easter baptism. Then, COVID-19 hit.
“Dovie,” a friend texted me, “you might die. You need to get this done.” Blunt as he was, that’s not wrong. My disability doesn’t just have me in a wheelchair — it significantly weakens my lungs. I’ve nearly died of pneumonia a few times.
I texted the pastor, and he agreed that on Sunday, March 22, 2020, I would be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And so it was. At the appointed time, I wheeled into the small side chapel, and after an hour or so, came out a Christian.
That evening, the governor of New York put the city under a stay-at-home order. The next day, I woke up with a bad case of COVID-19. The world hurt; the city was still. But I was alive, and I was in his grace.
Two years later, I’d be confirmed as a Roman Catholic, and I’d truly be home. But that’s a story for another day.
Four females — ages 13 to 15 — were arrested after they beat and tried to rob a 71-year-old woman in a Brooklyn subway while she was on her way to church, police told the New York Post.
One 13-year-old, one 14-year-old, and two 15-year-olds were taken into custody on Wednesday and Thursday, the paper said, adding that they each face charges of robbery, assault, and harassment in connection with the New Year's Day incident.
'She punched me in my face, and I have my glasses on, and I have a cut on my nose. When she punched me in my face, my glasses flew to the floor.'
One of the 15-year-olds was arrested in September for allegedly attacking a police officer in Queens to prevent the cop from arresting another person, law enforcement sources told the Post, adding that the other three females "had no prior brushes with the law."
Linda Rosa — a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority computer operation worker who lives in East New York – got off a No. 3 train at Hoyt Street just after 6 p.m. and had just passed through a turnstile when one of the four females tried to grab her purse, she recounted to the Post in an initial story.
Rosa told the paper her inner reaction was, "Oh, no, this is not going to happen today." Another female also tried to grab Rosa’s purse and actually asked her, “Oh, you want to fight?” But Rosa wouldn't let go of her property.
“The first person kept fighting,” Rosa recalled to the Post. “She punched me in my face, and I have my glasses on, and I have a cut on my nose. When she punched me in my face, my glasses flew to the floor.”
She continued to the paper, “Meanwhile, the other young lady was still trying to distract me to get my pocketbook or go into my purse, to snatch something out of my purse." Rosa told the Post one of the attackers grabbed a pocket pouch containing her ID and medical records, after which Rosa upped the intensity of her self-defense.
“I was still wrestling with the first person,” Rosa told the paper. “Then I was trying to kick her in between her legs, but my leg wouldn’t stretch far enough, so I believe that’s when I fell ... and then she stomped on me.”
One might assume she would have simply covered up and hoped the attack would end soon — but the opposite happened.
“I got an impression in me that she was going to stomp me again, but she was going to aim towards my head,” Rosa explained to the Post. “So I got up right away, and with that, I grabbed her braids and twirled them around my right hand, and then I pulled her down. She had her head down. Then the other young lady said, ‘Let her go.’ And I said, ‘Oh, no, I’m not letting her go.’”
The paper said Rosa yelled for help — and the teen who grabbed her pocket pouch dropped it and came at her. But Rosa told the Post she pulled off the same move on the second female with her free hand: "I grabbed her hair and twisted it around my left hand. So I had them both facedown ... [like] rams when they’re getting ready to fight.”
The other females repeatedly screamed at Rosa to “Let them go! Let them go!” but the Post said Rosa refused and again yelled for help: “I need assistance! I need assistance!”
Finally, she let go of the two attackers and began picking up her belongings from the floor, the paper said. Then the defeated crew ran up the subway steps as Rosa told them she was going to call the police, the paper reported.
More from the Post:
Rosa — who retired from the MTA in 2016 after working for the agency for about 42 years — then headed to the nearby Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, where the staff tended to her and called 911.
She was taken to the Brooklyn Hospital Center for treatment.
Rosa said she is thankful she wasn’t hurt worse.
“Thank God they didn’t have no weapons,” she noted to the paper. “I thank God I didn’t have a heart attack and a stroke and die!”
You can view a video here showing the suspects going through the subway station turnstile.
Rosa added to the Post, “I forgive them. They do not know what they do. They don’t know what they did. It’s just teenagers acting foolish.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
A violent quartet of teenage females beat and tried to rob a 71-year-old woman in a Brooklyn subway as she was headed to church on New Year's Day — but the outnumbered victim wasn't about to lay down for the youthful mob.
Linda Rosa — a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority computer operation worker who lives in East New York – got off a No. 3 train at Hoyt Street just after 6 p.m. and had just passed through a turnstile when one of the four females tried to grab her purse, she recounted to the New York Post.
'I grabbed her braids and twirled them around my right hand, and then I pulled her down.'
Rosa told the paper her inner reaction was, "Oh, no, this is not going to happen today."
Another female also tried to grab Rosa’s purse and actually asked her, “Oh, you want to fight?”
But Rosa wouldn't let go of her property.
“The first person kept fighting,” Rosa recalled to the Post in a Friday interview. “She punched me in my face, and I have my glasses on, and I have a cut on my nose. When she punched me in my face, my glasses flew to the floor.”
She continued to the paper, “Meanwhile the other young lady was still trying to distract me to get my pocketbook or go into my purse, to snatch something out of my purse."
Rosa told the Post one of the attackers grabbed a pocket pouch containing her ID and medical records, after which Rosa upped the intensity of her self-defense.
“I was still wrestling with the first person,” Rosa told the paper. “Then I was trying to kick her in between her legs, but my leg wouldn’t stretch far enough, so I believe that’s when I fell ... and then she stomped on me.”
One might assume she would have simply covered up and hoped the attack would end soon — but the opposite happened.
“I got an impression in me that she was going to stomp me again, but she was going to aim towards my head,” Rosa explained to the Post. “So I got up right away, and with that, I grabbed her braids and twirled them around my right hand, and then I pulled her down. She had her head down. Then the other young lady said, ‘Let her go.’ And I said, ‘Oh, no, I’m not letting her go.’”
'I thank God I didn’t have a heart attack and a stroke and die!'
The paper said Rosa yelled for help — and the teen who grabbed her pocket pouch dropped it and came at her.
Think the victim cried "uncle" at that point? Not on your life.
Rosa told the Post she pulled off the same move on the second female with her free hand: " I grabbed her hair and twisted it around my left hand. So I had them both facedown ... [like] rams when they’re getting ready to fight.”
The other females repeatedly screamed at Rosa to set their comrades free, the paper said: “Let them go! Let them go!” But the Post said Rosa refused and again yelled for help: “I need assistance! I need assistance!”
Finally, she let go of the two attackers and began picking up her belongings from the floor, the paper said. Then the defeated crew ran up the subway steps as Rosa told them she was going to call the police, the Post reported.
More from the paper:
Rosa — who retired from the MTA in 2016 after working for the agency for about 42 years — then headed to the nearby Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, where the staff tended to her and called 911.
She was taken to The Brooklyn Hospital Center for treatment.
Rosa said she is thankful she wasn’t hurt worse.
“Thank God they didn’t have no weapons,” she noted to the Post. “I thank God I didn’t have a heart attack and a stroke and die!”
You can view a video here showing the suspects going through subway station turnstile.
The paper said Rosa's attackers were still on the loose Friday, but the target of their botched robbery told the Post, “I forgive them. They do not know what they do. They don’t know what they did. It’s just teenagers acting foolish.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!