70-Year-Old Man Arrested for Allegedly Striking Tesla Supporter with Car
Arrests have also been made in a Pennsylvania vandalism incident and Arizona road-rage case. The defendants are beginning to experience the FO phase of the FAFO cycle.
In my last report on the “Tesla Takedown/Tesla Shield” demonstrations and counter-protests, I noted many anti-Tesla demonstrators who were substantially north of 40.
While most of the protests were peaceful, one was not, and a boomer is facing serious charges for his behavior during one of the demonstrations.
Christopher Talbot, a 70-year-old man from Meridian, Idaho, has been charged with aggravated battery after allegedly striking a counter-protester with his vehicle during a protest at a Tesla dealership this weekend.
Christopher Talbot, 70, made “an obscene gesture” at a 49-year-old victim and struck him with his car, police alleged. About 30 protesters and 200 counterprotesters had gathered at a protest at a Tesla dealership on Franklin Road in western Idaho.
…“Reports indicate the victim had been driving a truck with pro-Trump flags and had just parked and exited his vehicle when Talbot struck him with his car,” police said in a news release. “The victim drove himself to a local hospital, where he was treated and released [with] non-life-threatening injuries.”
Police did not identify the victim, who they said was a counterprotester.
Talbot was arrested without incident and charged with aggravated battery Saturday. He was booked into the Ada County Jail. It was not clear whether he has an attorney.
70-year-old Idaho man arrested after ramming individuals at a pro-Tesla rally with his car.
Christopher Talbot, 70, was charged with aggravated assault.
These leftist domestic terrorists need to be stopped before someone gets kiIIed. pic.twitter.com/InaM8ul6WK
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 30, 2025
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, another north-of-40 Tesla hater is experiencing the FO portion of the FAFO cycle. Chadd Ritenbaugh, a 55-year-old resident of Bucks County, was recently arrested and charged with vandalism after allegedly carving a swastika into the side of a Tesla in a Planet Fitness parking lot in Doylestown.
The incident occurred late last week and was captured by the Tesla’s onboard cameras. The sentry-mode footage reportedly shows Ritenbaugh exiting his gray Lexus, approaching the Tesla, and scratching the symbol into its side before leaving the scene.
Ritenbaugh is pulling out all the stops for his defense.
On Thursday, the Central Bucks Regional Police Department issued an arrest warrant for 55-year-old Chadd Ritenbaugh, charging him with two misdemeanors and two summary offenses for damaging property, harassment, and disorderly conduct in the Monday incident.
Footage captured by the Tesla’s side camera in a Planet Fitness parking lot that morning shows a man police say is Ritenbaugh exit a gray Lexus, duck behind the vehicle, and scratch the neighboring car with an “unknown” object before walking out of frame.
The Tesla’s owner later left the gym to find “what appeared to be scratches in the shape of a swastika” on the side of the vehicle, according to court documents.
When reached for comment, Ritenbaugh directed The Inquirer to his defense attorney, Paul Lang.
“My client is a proud father, longtime resident, and is currently undergoing cancer treatment,” Lang said in a text message. “We will reserve further comment pending the outcome of the case.”
When confronted, Ritenbaugh claimed he did not cause permanent damage.
NEW: Man confronted after drawing a swastika on a Tesla, tries offering the man “free service” through his car service company.
How kind of him!
The man appears to be 55-year-old Chadd Ritenbaugh who was busted last week for allegedly carving a swastika on a Tesla in Bucks… pic.twitter.com/38kPcMAslB
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 31, 2025
Now it is being reported that an arrest has been made in connection with the assault of a 61-year-old Tesla driver, identified as “Susan,” in Flagstaff, Arizona. The incident occurred in mid-March, along Route 6, as Susan was reportedly chased and boxed in by a green Chevrolet Cavalier.
NEW: 61-year-old female Tesla driver assaulted inside her own car after being chased down.
The woman who was identified as “Susan” was driving on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona when the assault happened.
“I didn’t buy my car for a political statement. I bought my car because… pic.twitter.com/HsenJ7AQWh
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 30, 2025
This suspect in this case is under 40, however.
Robert Artherton, a 33-year-old man from Flagstaff, reportedly drove his Chevrolet Cavalier in front of the Tesla, forcing both vehicles to stop. He then exited his car and approached the driver’s side of the Tesla, where he allegedly began punching the woman through her open window with a closed fist.
“Mr. Artherton was arrested via a criminal citation for disorderly conduct, assault, and aggressive driving in lieu of detention due to seeking medical attention for an injury to his hand,” read a portion of the statement.
Bites are nasty. Artherton clearly started his FO phase a bit earlier that he anticipated.
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Things are getting hotter. When will the first death be, and how done? And, by whom?
The guy who boxed in, then punched a woman deserved to win that “first” title.
IMO
Indeed. Forgot about that one…
Sorry, downvoted you while attempting to scroll.
We’re good.
What I like is the suspense. Who will kill the next innocent white member of a group the Left hates?
A Muslim?
A tranny?
I would not have guessed “enraged Lefty boomer”, I must confess.
Ha ha ha, when he goes to jail that old man is going to get gussied up and have his dentures taken away from him. Then he’ll really learn how to ‘protest.’
guessing 2 years max …time served and he has to wash 3 teslas
again
maga has been trying to avoid a war
lefty pushing for it
Trump and his supporters used to hate electric vehicles. That was, until Elon Musk endorsed Trump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-GHs5IeULo
I believe the forum rules are that you can only upvote your own identical lie the first two times.
It seems likely that JR has many aliases, allowing more votes than the rest of us.
He’s too stupid to pull off that scam.
Wrong. What we hated was the federal government dictating what kind of motor vehicle we could buy. And using our tax dollars to subsidize those who bought one. The cars are “fine” for some purposes, but if driving long distances is part of your life, you do better with ICEs. That is what has conservatives upset. The federal government did not build any gasoline stations or offer cash incentives to get people to unhitch the team and buy a motor vehicle.
Correct! Dems “loved” EVs because they were told to love and buy them; Repubs “hated” EVs because they were told to love and buy them.
Democrats are mindless lemmings, running off that mythical cliff gladly. This also explains their sudden, coordinated abject hatred of Elon Musk and Teslas.
I am reminded of “The Marching Morons,” by CE Kornbluth.
To wit: “In 1988, real estate agent and con artist John Barlow is placed in suspended animation after a freak accident. He is revived in the distant future, in a confusing world filled with hypersexualized advertisements, vapid entertainment, and people who exhibit erratic, nonsensical behavior. Shortly after being revived, Barlow is introduced to two men, Tinny-Peete and Ryan-Ngana, who inform him that the lamentable state of society is the fault of the “morons”, the world’s vast population of unintelligent people, who greatly outnumber the much smaller population of intelligent people.”
Sound familiar?
Just watch Idiocracy.
Fine for limited purposes, not good for long range, heavy loads or temperature extremes, and not reasonable fill up times. One of my diesel trucks has 150 gallon tank.
Trump supporters weren’t assaulting drivers or vandalizing vehicles, JR. As usual, you post something stupid due to your chronic TDS.
Props for posting a real link, though. How about that link to Powerline?
Most certainly TDS is adding to irrationally, the stupid comes naturally.
Zip it, you flatulent boor.
I’ve said this before, idiot… we don’t hate EV’s.
What we hate is state-fellators like you trying to mandate that we buy them.
Quit upvoting yourself.
Don’t conflate things. I still dislike EV’s and I still like Elon Musk.
Additionally, even though I dislike EV’s I have never willfully damaged one, and statistics say that’s the norm among Republicans. Current evidence suggests that all the vandals against EV’s that have been caught vote Democrat.
If you want an EV, great….as long as you don’t, as has been the dictate from Democrats when in power) try to force them on everyone.
Nah. If someone chooses to purchase an EV (w/o any subsidy) it isn’t any of my business… so long as the purchaser absorbs any losses to others property if the thing catches on fire. What most of us oppose are subsidies and/or mandates for EV. Especially combined with broad electric conversion mandates predicated on unachievable net zero standards.
I also am opposed to my tax dollars going to charging stations, solar panels, and any green energy initiatives.
You bring up that “point“ several times a week as though it actually meant something. Why? We both know how meaningless an observation it is.
JR is a 70+ yo demented patient in a home. He has short term memory loss and is prone to repetitive comments. Sundowner breaks free every once in a while and gets access to the internet.
I think you added a zero.
Got news for you, trollboy… many of us still hate them. What’s your point? This has nothing to do with Tesla. It has everything to do with government corruption.
Now run along. You’ve earned your nickel. Oh, and stop upvoting yourself.
I’ve never hated electric vehicles. As a matter of fact, I seriously considered buying one a few years ago. I’m a car nut and an electric is something I’ve never owned. Unfortunately they’re not practical where I live because of our long and extremely cold winters, and the total lack of any charging station infrastructure.
Nobody is impressed with your infantile generalizations.
I suspect these violent anti Tesla wokiestas are largely the same group as the Covid Karens. The sooner these over entitled bullies get the unambiguous message that society won’t tolerate their BS antics passively the sooner they stop. Gonna take arrests, convictions and harsh sentences to get them to understand there are limits. Hopefully that occurs before they FAFO with the wrong person who has a DIY mindset.
“He then exited his car and approached the driver’s side of the Tesla, where he allegedly began punching the woman through her open window with a closed fist.”
What a well-balanced individual! When is his bottom surgery scheduled for?
“a 70-year-old man from Meridian, Idaho, has been charged with aggravated battery”
In a just world, he would be sentenced to aggravated internal combustion.
Now, Henry, don’t be so old-fashioned. If the guy wants he should be allowed internal electrification instead.
Should have been charged with attempted murder for trying to run her off the road.
Wanna bet the Idaho guy relocated from CA!
These people need to be fined, required to provide restitution, and serve time in jail. Community service is taking them off the streets since they have poor impulse control.
If at all possible, they need to be hit with federal terrorism charges. Are they not using violence for political ends? Is that not terrorism?
My definition of “terrorism”:
A crime intentionally shocking to a society’s sensibilities, committed with the purpose of advancing a political, social, and/or religious cause.
Pay for all damages. Spend some time in jail with non-yuppy people. Then maybe community service if they have paid for the damage they did.
The anti-Musk brainwashing perpetrated by leftist politicians and media works! They should be asked, at every opportunity, why they support this kind of violence.
Lefties are typically score high in the traits of Agreeability and Neuroticism, so they’re particularly easy to brainwash.
So this guy’s going to spend the rest of what’s left of his life in the criminal justice system, but in two months, Doge will be done, and Elon will have moved on to the next big thing.
And the people who incited him to violence will still be inciting people like him to violence.
Send these terrorists to El Salvador.
Possessed old hippies desperate to vent their self-loathing spleen on whatever happens to be the next angst driven target…which is a moving target and often the exact opposite of what they were championing a few years…or months…back. A good chunk of The General Public is going insane…maybe long Covid and multiple Not-A-Vax injections are the culprit as it appears they go off the rails at will.
They really need to put these creeps in a federal pound me in the ass prison for maximum sentence.
Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather give that suggestion two thumbs-up, a swirl, and a finger snap.
“DEMOCRAT TERRORIST ARRESTED…”
Fixed that headline for you.
That picture with the American flag above his head almost makes it look like he is wearing a dunce cap.
Yup, that immediately struck me, too.
Extremist political and religious movements trend to attract a number of deranged individuals who get some relief from their mental chaos by wrapping themselves with the ideology of the group. Then they become a potential resource for group leaders who can induce them to attack opponents, since they lack any intrinsic moral restraints. The Left has been ratcheting up the rhetoric knowing that eventually some of these fanatics will act out and cause mayhem, which can then be used to political advantage by destabilizing the status quo. The Nazis used similar tactics, which only work well in the absence of competent mainstream leadership. Once again they are underestimating President Trump, who has the experience, political instincts and will to mobilize enough sanity to insure that order prevails.
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