PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A 44-year-old man was arrested Saturday, after driving his car onto the sidewalk of a Tesla dealership near West Palm Beach, nearly striking several protesters.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Andrew Dutil is accused of driving his black Nissan SUV onto the curb of the dealership, located at 5544 Okeechobee Boulevard.
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According to the affidavit, deputies spoke with two women who were part of the protest — which was aimed at Elon Musk and DOGE — who said they were standing on the sidewalk when Dutil's SUV jumped the curb and approached them. They both said they were in fear for their life and believed they would have been hit if they had not jumped out of the way.
One woman said Dutil had driven by earlier in the day, and was yelling at the protesters.
No injuries were reported.
Kat, who was at the protest on Saturday, told WPTV's Joel Lopez she was also scared.
"I was the first one who would've been hit, he was coming at me. I was at the very edge of the curb. That guy could've hit me, could've killed me, without a doubt," she said.
Mark Offerman, founder of United+, the organizer of the protest, says when Dutil jumped the curb on Saturday, he "jumped out of the car and proceeded to throw his hands in the air and say don't touch the car I just lost my electronics, I can't steer. And he ran into the Tesla dealership."
"Do you believe this car was having car troubles?" asked Lopez.
"No, I don't," said Offerman.
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According to the affidavit, Dutil's car was still capable of driving, because he moved it when PBSO first arrived at the scene.
United+ is using the incident to plan better safety measures, as they have more Tesla rallies on the calendar.
"We know the kind of climate that we're in," said Offerman. "At this point we're going to be ready for it, it's at the front of our minds now, it's not anywhere in the back. This is a legitimate concern and we're going to start paying attention and have people completely dedicated to panning the area and watching our peripherals."
According to the affidavit, a Tesla employee claimed Dutil entered the dealership, stated that he stands with Tesla, and then left.
"I understand now that Teslas are being vandalized. That's not OK, but it's certainly not worth taking somebody's life or attempting to take somebody's life," said Kat.
Dutil faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent. He is currently in Palm Beach County Jail, and is being held without bond.
