Crime & Scandals

Tesla Terrorist Pleads Not Guilty, Gets Trial Date

Posted on: April 15, 2025, 07:54h.

Last updated on: April 15, 2025, 07:57h.

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Corey Levitan Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas...
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The man accused of firebombing at least five Teslas pleaded not guilty to arson, attempted arson and possessing an unregistered firearm in federal court on Tuesday.

Social media photos of Paul Hyron Kim, who is accused of a “targeted attack” against Teslas parked at a Las Vegas service center on March 18.. (Images: LVMPD)

Prosecutors claim Paul Hyon Kim, a 36-year-old activist and communist who lives in Las Vegas, hurled Molotov cocktails and shot a gun into the empty vehicles, which were parked at a Las Vegas Tesla service center on March 18.

Multiple Tesla vehicles were set ablaze by Molotov cocktails and riddled with bullets on March 18, an act declared “domestic terrorism” by Attorney General Pam Bondi. (Image: LVMPD)

US Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts scheduled a trial to begin on June 17. Judge Jennifer Dorsey will preside.

Kim was indicted last Wednesday by a federal grand jury. He was arrested on March 26 on state charges including arson and possessing an explosive device, but is not due in court on those charges until August.

Judge Albergts confirmed that Kim had read the indictment, then ordered Kim to remain in custody.

Kim’s attorneys claimed that a court-provided Korean translator at a previous detention hearing inadequately translated testimony from Kim’s mother regarding their relationship, which contributed to a judge’s decision to detain Kim pending trial.

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.