Accused Tesla Firebomber Used Skeletons in Tree To Intimidate Neighbor
The self-identified ‘queer’ engineer’s behavior alarmed neighbors, who were not shocked by his arrest.

Neighbors of the Albuquerque man accused of firebombing a Tesla showroom and the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters say he exhibited concerning behavior towards neighbors in the months leading up to both attacks, including hanging skeletons in a tree, one with a bullet hole in its forehead.
Jamison Wagner, 40, had hung the skeletons in the tree due to a difference in political opinion between him and neighbor, Elijah Garcia, according to KOAT-7 News. Wagner also posted a sign on his house, reading “Once It Was Patriotic Now It’s A Crime Death to Nazi Swine!!!”, with “Death” underlined twice for emphasis.
“I understand the difference in political views. I try not to get into it too much, but obviously there was a difference,” Mr. Garcia told KOAT.
Wagner was arrested Monday for two arson attacks that FBI Director Kash Patel called “acts of domestic terrorism.” On February 9, Wagner allegedly planted homemade incendiary devices inside two Tesla Model Y vehicles and spray-painted “Die Elon” and “Die Tesla Nazi,” accompanied with swastika symbols, all over the Tesla showroom’s exterior.
Surveillance footage captured an individual sharing the same height, build, and receding hairline as Wagner, dressed in black clothing and a black hoodie, lighting one of the devices inside a Tesla vehicle. One Tesla vehicle was “significantly damaged” in the firebombing.
Wagner is also accused of using similar incendiary devices, including a glass jar of Smucker’s Natural spread and a blue bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin that had been filled with “ignitable liquids,” to set the front of the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters ablaze, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators also recovered lids to glass jars marked with “I” or “H,” similar to those recovered from the Tesla firebombing. Wagner is accused of spray painting “ICE=KKK” in red paint on one of the walls of the headquarters. No one was injured in both attacks.
Authorities were able to match Wagner to a white Hyundai Accent seen near the Republican Party of New Mexico attack.
A search of Wagner’s Albuquerque residence found eight fully assembled incendiary devices, black and red spray paint cans, multiple glass jars, a black hoodie stained with red paint, and a stencil reading “ICE=KKK” covered in red paint.
“Let us come together and move beyond political division to work towards a better future for ALL New Mexicans,” said the Republican Party of New Mexico in a statement.
Wagner is charged with two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives and faces 5 to 20 years in prison for each count if convicted. Wagner is currently in custody.
A profile for a man sharing the same name and hairline as Jamison Wagner on 500 Queer Scientists, a “visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people and their allies working in STEM and STEM-supporting jobs,” says he is pursuing his masters in electrical engineering and is currently working as an intern for a “national lab.”
“I am queer and I am an electrical engineer,” the man writes in his profile. An FBI spokesperson could not confirm if the profile belongs to Wagner. 500 Queer Scientists did not respond to a request for confirmation.
A detention hearing for Wagner is set for later today.