Why a Minnesota police chief says a female Tesla vandalism suspect won't be charged — and even 'may have been a victim'

In a twist amid the recent and widespread rash of attacks against Tesla vehicles, a Minnesota police chief is following his department's "core value of being compassionate" and won't be charging a Tesla vandalism suspect.

What's more, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges earlier this week declared that "the suspect in this case may have been a victim — and I mean victim in terms of the rhetoric that is being spewed out here by some of those in leadership."

'People should be able to drive whatever car they want without fear of going into a store and someone scratching their car, or people yelling at 'em because of the car … they choose to drive.'

A woman walked past a Tesla parked outside the Cub Foods on France Avenue north of Old Shakopee Road and scraped it with a key on March 26, causing $3,200 in damage, police told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Police posted a video on social media of the woman in the parking lot and asked for tips on how to find her, the paper said.

Hodges on Tuesday announced that the woman came in with her family just one day after the video was posted and confessed to the crime, the Star Tribune said.

But it turns out that the Tesla owner only wanted the woman to cover the cost of repairing the damage, and Hodges said she did just that.

“The victim in this case just wanted their car fixed, and they just wanted the suspect to pay for that,” Hodges said. “Based on the totality of the circumstances here, and along with our core value of being compassionate, this is the best outcome for everybody involved in this case.”

Continuing with his criticism of leaders — presumably those railing against Tesla CEO Elon Musk's cost-cutting work with the DOGE for President Donald Trump — Hodges added that "we need our leaders to start leading and stop feeding this rhetoric. People should be able to drive whatever car they want without fear of going into a store and someone scratching their car, or people yelling at 'em because of the car … they choose to drive. It’s time for all of us, you know, just to start getting along and knock this stuff off, man. People should be able to be left alone.”

While Hodges didn't refer to a specific leader, the Star Tribune said Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who unsuccessfully ran for vice president with Kamala Harris last fall — told a crowd last month that he gets an anti-Musk thrill by checking Tesla's stock price: “I take great pleasure in the fact that this guy’s life is going to get very, very difficult."

As readers of Blaze News likely know, Musk responded with a dig against Walz on X: "Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the @WhiteHouse and thank the Lord."

Anything else?

Hodges made sure to warn others who assume they'll now scoot past criminal charges if they damage Teslas: “But rest assured, if you damage these cars or target people, we are going to arrest you, we are going to prosecute you to the fullest extent that we’re able to."

You can view Hodges' video statement here.

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