Progressive Marxism reduces down to two basic instincts: 1) rich businessmen are evil, and 2) government is god (rich politicians, therefore, get a pass). So, it’s no surprise that progressive Marxists were outraged when Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, got an inside pass to knock the waste, fraud, and abuse out of government agencies like a bull in a china shop.

Unfortunately, the response by these progressive Marxists was no less surprising. Alarmed at the utterly fascistic powers wielded by a man with no official office, these courageous freedom fighters resorted to every democracy’s tool of choice — the Molotov cocktail.

But these misled radicals had to confront a glaring, strategic contradiction: the American people had placed the institutions they most revered in the hands of the people they most despised. Attacking the American government is no way to save the American government. Therefore, they had to target Musk some other way. Blessed with all the strategic foresight and aim of a Stormtrooper, they chose to assault private property and businesses instead — in particular, anything carrying the “T” for Tesla, Musk’s most successful company.

Yes, as strange as it sounds, for the past month leftist radicals have turned America’s top electric-car company into a totem for Nazism. This has given them a mental excuse to treat Teslas with all the disgust normally felt for a sworn enemy. All over the country, the built-in cameras on Teslas have recorded random passers-by doing everything from subtly keying the hated car’s door to smearing feces on it.

Such malicious, irrational behavior is almost a performative, religious act, for an insecure progressive to prove (at least to him or herself) that he or she is a good citizen — a mandatory requirement for those who believe government is god. The acts seem like a bizarre, voluntary form of fumie, the 17th century Japanese practice whereby people were forced to step on an image of Jesus Christ to prove they were not Christians.

The sudden animosity towards Tesla from its erstwhile customer base has seriously hurt the business, whose shares have fallen 35% this month and 42% this year (the company also issued a major recall last week). Even Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), a recent candidate for vice president of the United States, was induced to mock the brand online, “If you need a boost during the day, check out Tesla stock.”

But the catty turned catastrophic when several individuals chose to escalate the violence to arson attacks. In Salem, Ore., a man armed with an AR-15 rifle threw approximately eight Molotov cocktails into a Tesla dealership. In Loveland, Colo., another man attempted to ignite Teslas with Molotov cocktails, while in Charleston, S.C. a man turned his fiery rage against Tesla charging stations.

The Department of Justice swiftly arrested all three perpetrators and announced on Thursday that they “will face the full force of the law.” Each faces charges carrying a minimum of five years in prison, and a maximum of 20 years.

“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” declared U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”

Two days earlier, Bondi had warned, “The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism. … We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”

President Donald Trump endorsed the DOJ’s vigorous prosecution in his own statement. “Those people are going to go through a big problem when we catch them. We’ve got a lot of cameras up. We already know who some of them are. We’re going to catch them,” he said. “And they’re bad guys. They’re the same guys that screw around with our schools and universities, the same garbage.”

While the Trump administration’s approach to law enforcement is sometimes open to the charge that it is unmeasured or hasty, here Bondi and Trump are on solid ground, suggested the editors of National Review, who are by no means instinctual Trump cheerleaders.

“It was appropriate for Attorney General Pam Bondi to describe what is happening as a ‘wave of domestic terrorism,’” they wrote, “in the sense that the perpetrators are resorting to violence to achieve a political or ideological goal; they want to convince people not to buy Teslas and to do enough damage to Musk’s company that it drives him out of public life.” Non-state actors resorting to violence to achieve a political goal is the definition of terrorism.

Boycotting a store or product — as conservatives did to Target and Bud Light — is one thing. It preserves a respect for property rights, violates no laws, and puts no one’s life in danger. Actively destroying someone else’s property or business by arson is something entirely different.

It’s no surprise, then, that the column of radicals torching Teslas is the group with little ideological allegiance to private property, the rule of law, or the value of human life — or even to America itself. But, when government-worshipers confront the unwelcome reality that government is now run by their sworn enemies, their tactical options are limited. Violence is the expected result.