The college student accused of firebombing a Tesla dealership has been released from federal custody to continue gender affirming medical care, according to a report.
Owen McIntire, 19, is facing federal charges for allegedly tossing two Molotov cocktails into a Missouri Tesla dealership last month, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to two Cybertrucks and two charging stations, according to the feds.
The University of Massachusetts physics student was granted release by US Magistrate Judge Jessica Hedges due to “serious and ongoing” medical needs — which include gender-affirming medical care that requires daily medication as well as mental health support, according to KMBC.
McIntire is also on the autism spectrum and was diagnosed with both ADHD and depression, all of which require medications and treatments that excuse him from remaining in prison, his lawyers successfully argued.
“By moving back home with his parents, he will have access to the care providers who are familiar with him and his specific needs,” the court documents read, according to KSHB.
Judge Jessica Hedges, who was appointed in 2024, overruled objections from US attorneys from the Western District of Missouri who claimed the terrorism-related charges warranted that McIntire be treated as a public safety threat, KMBC reported.
McIntire was granted release into the custody of his parents on April 24 and will undergo strict confinement and electronic monitoring at the family’s Missouri home while he awaits trial, KMBC reported.
Feds sought to keep the 19-year-old in custody during the lead-up to the trial — with officials emphasizing at the time of his arrest that Tesla-related vandalism would be prosecuted thoroughly.
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi warned in a DOJ statement at the time of McIntire’s apprehension.
“You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It’s not worth it,” Bondi added.
McIntire is charged with malicious damage to property by fire of any property used in interstate commerce and one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device.
The accused firebug is set to appear for a May 1 hearing at the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri.
