Man arrested after spray painting Nazi imagery on synagogue

SAN MATEO COUNTY >> A man responsible for spray painting Nazi imagery and the name of an Elon Muskowned company on a synagogue in Foster City and damaging vehicles in Burlingame was arrested Tuesday, according to authorities.

The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said that a 28-year-old former Foster City resident was arrested on suspicion of vandalism after three Tesla vehicles were scraped at a dealership in Burlingame, causing more than $60,000 of damages.

On other occasions, according to the DA's office, the man spray painted more vehicles with the symbol and word for “Neuralink” in Burlingame.

Neuralink is a Fremontbased company founded by Elon Musk that is currently developing brain-computer interfaces designed to assist people with medical needs. According to the company's website, the implants will be used in the future to help quadriplegics move computer cursors with their neural signals, for example, and restore vision, motor and speech capabilities.

The company name was spray painted on Tesla vehicles, a company in which Musk serves as the Chief Executive Officer. The suspect's vehicle, a gold Toyota Prius, was captured on video by Burlingame police Tuesday.

The man arrested on suspicion of the vandalism admitted to a similar crime at a synagogue in Foster City, police said. On June 18, spray-painted swastikas and the word “Neuralink” were found on the outside of the Peninsula Sinai Congregation. Similar spray paintings were found on Crystal Springs Road in Hillsborough, according to the DA's office.

Prosecutors said that the man's parents told investigators that he “hates” Musk and believes in numerous conspiracy theories about Musk's companies. The man told police that he committed the vandalisms to “convince Elon Musk to stop targeting him,” authorities said.

The man was formally charged Thursday with five felonies, including four charges of vandalism causing $400 or more in damages, and with one charge of a hate crime for vandalizing a religious property.