Oregon Man Accused Of Throwing Molotov Cocktails At Tesla Dealership Faces Federal Charges

A 41-year-old Salem man, Adam Matthew Lansky, is now facing a federal charge of illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device following two incidents during which police allege that he hurled Molotov Cocktails and later fired shots at the Tesla Dealership at 2755 Mission St. SE in Salem, Oregon.

Lanky was arrested on Tuesday, March 4, after allegedly hurling bottle grenades at the Tesla dealership, which police described as vandalism incidents. During the first incident on January 20, officers were called out to a report of a person throwing Molotov cocktails at the dealership.

On February 19, police again responded, this time to reports that someone shot out windows at the same Tesla business.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) filed evidence in court, including surveillance footage from January 20 showing Lansky lighting and throwing at least eight Molotov cocktails.

He is also accused of breaking a showroom window by throwing a rock through it. Four more unlit Molotov cocktails were found in the parking lot, and investigators indicated that the fingerprints on some of the bottles matched Lansky’s.

The footage also shows a person pulling out an AR-15-style rifle with a suppressor and pointing it at a Tesla vehicle at a nearby charging station as it starts to drive off on February 19. The car was recorded by a nearby patrol car.