Las Vegas Federal Judge Won’t Release Accused Tesla Terrorist

Posted on: March 28, 2025, 07:24h. 

Last updated on: March 28, 2025, 08:33h.

Corey Levitan Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

A federal judge on Friday refused to immediately release Paul Hyon Kim, the man arrested for shooting up and firebombing at least five Teslas parked at a service center last week.

During a detention hearing, Kim’s public defender, Benjamin Nemec, called his client’s crime “property damage,” as reported by KLAS-TV/Las Vegas. He also noted that Kim, 36, has no criminal record, did not leave the area, and voluntarily spoke with police.

He asked that Kim be released into the custody of his mother, who lives out of state but offered to live with him during the case.

Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah delayed deciding on the matter until next week. However, she agreed with the prosecutor’s assessment of Kim. Jacob Operskalski called the defendant a flight risk who the Department of Justice considers guilty of “domestic terrorism.”

“He didn’t do it,” Nemec insisted, as reported by KLAS. “He spent eight days in Las Vegas. If he wanted to run, he could have.”

It was Kim’s second time before the judge, following an initial appearance on Thursday.

Extremist Ties

Las Vegas police arrested Kim, a freelance cinematographer and left-wing activist, on Wednesday on 15 felony and misdemeanor charges including arson and possessing an explosive device. U.S. Marshals later took Kim into custody on federal charges.

Kim is an activist with “some very loose but self-proclaimed ties to the Communist Party USA social media group, as well as social media groups called Revolutionary Communist International, Hidden Palestine, Palestine Action, and a variety of other social media groups,” according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren, who addressed reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

Operskalski acknowledged that investigators found “far-left extremist ideologies” in Kim’s social media accounts, but said those were irrelevant and his alleged behavior spoke for itself.

The Evidence

According to Koren, a shotgun, a handgun and ammunition matching the caliber used in the crime were found when a search warrant was executed on his Las Vegas apartment following his arrest on Wednesday evening.

A black gun pouch and a black backpack were also both found to have residue matching the pink spray paint used to spray “RESIST” across the Tesla service center’s front doors.

DNA they swabbed from Kim during his arrest also matched DNA found at the scene of the crime, police said.

Police said they found Kim’s vehicle by canvassing video and license-plate readers from more than 700 locations across Las Vegas. Kim later reported the car stolen to his insurance company.

On Friday, Operskalski added that police found an “escape plan” inside Kim’s home, which included notes about switching out license plates.