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Charges: Minnesota Tesla employee threatened to kill Joe Biden, Elon Musk

Minnesota Tesla employee threatened to kill Joe Biden, Elon Musk, charges say
Minnesota Tesla employee threatened to kill Joe Biden, Elon Musk, charges say 00:30

ROGERS, Minn. — Police in Texas arrested a Tesla employee from Minnesota on Sunday after he allegedly threatened to kill President Joe Biden and Elon Musk.

Justin McCauley, 31, was charged on Tuesday with felony terroristic threats after tweeting that he was "planning to kill" Biden, Musk, X and Tesla.

"I will arrive in Texas where the war has begun on many fronts @X @Tesla," he wrote in one tweet.

McCauley's wife contacted Rogers police after he said he was going to Texas and never coming back, according to court documents. He had left his cell phone as to not be tracked, his wife told police.

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Police in Oklahoma encountered McCauley last Friday and say he told them that he just wanted to talk to the president. When asked why, he allegedly said, "Wouldn't you want to talk to the president if you knew you were going to die tomorrow."

On Sunday afternoon, law enforcement stopped McCauley in Austin, and he allegedly told them he was planning on going to the Tesla Gigafactory to try to contact Musk. He was then arrested.

The day before McCauley's arrest, deputies responded to a terroristic threat call at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin. It is not clear if McCauley is the source of the call.

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