Attorney General Pam Bondi is calling on Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX) to apologize to Texas and Tesla shareholders over comments she made criticizing Elon Musk.
“She needs to unequivocally denounce the violence,” Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “She must apologize immediately, not only to all Texans, but to our country, to the American shareholders of Tesla, because she is promoting violence.”
Bondi’s remarks come as Tesla’s stock has cratered and the company is facing a wave of protests and vandalism at dealerships across the country, including in Texas, due to the Musk’s actions in his role as DOGE leader in the Trump administration.
During a #TeslaTakedown livestream last week, Crockett said she hoped to see Musk “taken down.” The congresswoman added moments later that she was not calling for Musk to be physically harmed, saying “everything that I am promoting is non-violent.”
Bondi acknowledged that Crockett was speaking figuratively but said “your words have consequences.”
“What happened after she said that about Elon Musk – she’s a Texan – and in her own home state after she said that, this morning three explosive devices were found in Austin, Texas,” she added.
Bondi’s demand for an apology from Crockett comes one day after she warned the lawmaker to “tread carefully,” when it comes to Musk.
Crockett fired back, reiterating that she was calling for peaceful protests and that she never made excuses for violent acts, unlike the Trump administration, referring to the president pardoning Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
“So just in case the slow people listening decide to clip this up later, I just want to say that I have never promoted violence whatsoever,” she said on MSNBC Alex Witt report. “Yet, I’ve also never made excuses for those violent actors, such as the ones on January 6th. So Pam Bondi, if you have an issue with terrorism, maybe you should talk to your boss about locking back up those guys that he let out that participated in January 6th.”
[Featured composite image via Newsweek]
