On Wednesday, a domestic terrorist implicated in a Molotov cocktail arson attack on a Las Vegas Tesla dealership was arrested, and he now faces serious local and federal charges. One down, many more to go, but this guy’s quick arrest and eventual (hopefully prolonged) sentence should serve as a good object lesson to any other lunatics contemplating similar attempts.
Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was arrested Wednesday by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, after at least five cars were allegedly set on fire March 18 at a local Tesla Collision Center.
Kim has been charged with multiple crimes ranging from destruction of property, arson, and possessing a fire device, according to jail records.
He will also face federal charges, Spencer Evans, the FBI agent-in-charge of the bureau’s Las Vegas office, told reporters at a Thursday news briefing.
“There’s nothing courageous or noble about firebombing private property and terrorizing your local community,” Evans said. “The self-righteous mob that’s cheering you on today to commit acts of violence on their behalf will leave you high and dry and forget about you tomorrow. And at the end of the day, you and you alone will be held responsible and face the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence.”
“Terrorizing” isn’t at all too strong a word here. A person who is capable of firebombing a car dealership is on a short path to attacking people directly; that’s how terrorists work. One of the proper responses to this kind of domestic terrorism is to make the risk too high and the eventual penalties too severe to make it worth the attempt.