The Palm Beach County man accused of driving his Nissan SUV toward a crowd of people protesting Elon Musk and President Donald Trump outside of a Tesla dealership has been granted bond and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Andrew Dutil, 44, of West Palm Beach, is facing one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He has pleaded not guilty.
He is accused of driving his car over a curb and partially onto the sidewalk along the 5500 block of Okeechobee Boulevard near West Palm Beach on Saturday afternoon, in the direction of a large group of demonstrators, a probable cause affidavit said.
Dutil drove slowly up onto the curb and sidewalk, forcing people to jump out of the way. Protesters recorded and turned over to deputies multiple videos of Dutil’s car driving onto the sidewalk “almost striking multiple people,” the affidavit said. No one was injured.
Dutil then walked into the Tesla dealership and left his car parked partly blocking the sidewalk and partly in the bike lane of Okeechobee Boulevard, multiple people told 911 operators, according to calls released Wednesday. A Tesla employee told deputies the man walked in and said he “stands with Tesla” before walking out, the probable cause affidavit said.
Hundreds of protesters have been gathering outside of Tesla dealerships across the country, including in South Florida, weekly to rally against Trump and his appointment of Musk, Telsa CEO and the world’s richest man, as the head of the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency.
‘Really outraged’: Over 200 gather outside Fort Lauderdale Tesla dealership to protest Elon Musk
There have also been instances of people targeting Tesla cropping up throughout the country and overseas, most recently recently with police in Austin, Texas, investigating incendiary devices found at a dealership on Monday. Tesla showrooms, car lots, charging stations and peoples’ privately owned vehicles have been vandalized and targeted, the Associated Press reported. Cybertrucks were set on fire in Seattle earlier this month.
Multiple protesters told 911 operators that the driver tried to intentionally hit people in the crowd while at least one man said that harming anyone did not appear to be the man’s intent, the 911 calls released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office show.
“He could have killed somebody,” one woman told the operator.
Another woman called the driver a “Trump supporter” who “just tried to run us down” in a black Nissan, according to one of the 911 calls released Wednesday.
“I saw him try to run over protesters and he’s still here,” the woman told the 911 operator.
One man said the protest was peaceful and a man drove up onto the sidewalk, then ran away and abandoned his car there.
“His intention was to disrupt the protest and block part of the sidewalk. He might be coming with more, I don’t know,” he told the operator.
The operator moments later asked to confirm that no one was injured.
“No one is injured. That wasn’t his intention, I’ll give him that,” the man told the operator. “He’s just parking up on the sidewalk and abandoned the car.”
Numerous callers read the car’s license plate to operators, which began with “DV.” In Florida, plate numbers that begin with “DV” indicate the driver is a veteran with “a 100 percent service-connected disability,” according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
One caller told an operator that the car had a U.S. Army veteran decal and a Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association decal.
Prosecutors sought to hold Dutil in custody while the case is pending. A judge denied that request at a hearing Tuesday, court records show. His bond was set at $50,000, and he was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is also prohibited from contacting victims, from using illegal substances or alcohol and from possessing any firearms or weapons.
Dutil’s defense attorneys did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.
