ROME (AP) — Italian police are investigating as possible arson a fire that destroyed more than a dozen Tesla electric vehicles at a dealership on the outskirts of Rome early Monday.

Tesla Italy said that it is cooperating with police, and that it had turned over surveillance video from the vehicles themselves. The cars’ internal video operates even when they are off.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene counted 16 burned cars.

Tesla has been the target of protests around the world against owner Elon Musk’s affiliation with the Trump administration. European sales of Tesla vehicles tumbled 49% in the first two months of the year even as overall sales of EVs grew.

By JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The Democratic base is angry.

Not just at President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the “Make America Great Again” movement. Rank-and-file Democrats are mad at their own leaders and increasingly agitating to replace them.

Arizona Democrats pushed out their party chair, and Georgia Democrats are on their way to doing the same. And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York postponed a book tour in the face of protests amid calls from progressives that he face a primary challenge.

The losing party after a presidential election often spends time in the wilderness, but the visceral anger among Democrats toward their party leaders is reaching a level reminiscent of the tea party movement that swept out Republican incumbents 15 years ago.

“They should absolutely be worried about holding onto power, because there’s a real energy right now against them,” Paco Fabián, deputy director of Our Revolution, a grassroots group allied with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said of Democratic incumbents. “And as soon as somebody figures out how to harness it, they’re going to be in deep trouble.”

A deeper hole than previous losses

Elections on Tuesday could give national Democrats a boost. In Wisconsin, the officially nonpartisan race for a state Supreme Court seat has become a test of Musk’s influence as his political organization boosts conservative Brad Schimel and progressives back liberal Susan Crawford, who has made anti-Musk messaging a centerpiece of her campaign. And two U.S. House special elections in Florida feature Democrats who are outraising their Republican counterparts in sharply pro-Trump districts.

But the current depth of frustration among Democrats is clear and shows no signs of going away.

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According to a February Quinnipiac poll, about half disapprove of how Democrats in Congress are handling their job, compared with about 4 in 10 who approve. That’s a stark contrast from the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency in 2021, when more than 8 in 10 Democrats approved of how their party was doing its job in Congress, and the start of Trump’s first term in 2017, when about 6 in 10 Democrats approved. In 2017, as they do now, Democrats lacked control of either congressional chamber.

A February CNN/SSRS poll found about three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents thought Democrats in Congress weren’t doing enough to oppose Trump.

Facing a coordinated and long-planned Republican effort to remake government and fire tens of thousands of federal workers, Democrats have struggled with a unified response.

Frustration on the left with elected Democrats began early, when some Democratic senators backed Trump Cabinet nominees and supported legislation targeting illegal immigration. It escalated following Trump’s joint address to Congress, when Democratic lawmakers protested by wearing coordinated clothes and holding up signs expressing their discontent. A handful of Democrats then voted with Republicans to censure U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who interrupted Trump’s speech to Congress and was escorted out of the chamber.

Schumer faced the most serious backlash after he refused to block a Republican-led government spending bill and shut down the government. Schumer said blocking the bill would have backfired and played into Trump’s hands, but many on the left saw it as capitulation.

“I want the opposition to be a lot more animated,” said Stefan Therrien, a 22-year-old engineering student in Tempe, Arizona, who called Democratic leaders in Congress “very passive” in a misguided effort to appeal to centrists. “Democrats should attack harder.”

Ken Human, a retired attorney who went to a town hall organized by Democrats in Lexington, Kentucky, said: “You have to stand up to bullies because otherwise they’ll walk all over you.”

Anger from a party’s base is not unusual after a party loses the presidency.

Establishment Republicans faced fierce backlash after Democrat Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, which fueled the rise of the tea party movement that overthrew some of the party’s most powerful incumbents and brought in a new cadre of lawmakers laser-focused on obstructing Obama’s agenda.

Democrats, likewise, were dejected after Republican President George W. Bush was reelected in 2004, but his popularity soon tanked and Democrats could foresee the massive wins they would notch in the 2006 midterms, said Robert Shapiro, a Columbia University professor focused on American politics.

Ronald Reagan’s victory in 1980 was a bigger shock to Democrats because it brought with it a period of Republican ascendance. The GOP won a Senate majority for the first time in nearly 30 years, though Democrats retained control of the House.

“The setback was significant and startling, but not as much as what’s happened today, where you have Trump winning the election at the same time the Republicans have control of both houses of Congress,” Shapiro said.

Grassroots Democrats were incensed by Trump’s first victory — with some talk then of primary challengers to leaders — but they mostly channeled their anger toward the president and the GOP, planning marches and organizing community groups to prepare for the midterms.

Those midterms led to at least one primary upset with future implications: New York Rep. Joe Crowley, the No. 4 House Democrat, fell to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, then a virtual unknown.

Angry town halls and new challengers

Thousands have packed rallies to hear Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, outsiders who rose to prominence for their sharp criticism of the Democratic establishment.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, greets Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as they speak during a stop of their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that filled Civic Center Park, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Democrats are getting an earful from constituents at some of the town halls, including events they’re organizing in GOP-controlled districts to draw attention to Republicans avoiding unscripted interactions with voters.

In Arizona, which went for Biden in 2020 before flipping to Trump last year, furious party leaders ousted their chair, Yolanda Bejarano. The result was a shock; Bejarano had support from every prominent Democrat in the state and was widely expected to get a second term.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, is in a similarly perilous position after Trump flipped Georgia in 2024. The Georgia party’s state committee approved a rules change Saturday making its chairmanship a full-time role, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That will make it increasingly likely that Williams, keeping her congressional seat, will step down as chair before her term ends in 2027.

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old liberal journalist with a big social media following, decided to run for Congress, saying most Democrats “work from an outdated playbook” in an announcement video that’s fiercely critical of party leaders.

“They aren’t meeting the moment, and their constituents are absolutely livid,” Abughazaleh said in an interview. She said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, the 80-year-old Democrat who has represented a suburban Chicago district since 1999, has an “admirable” progressive record, but “something needs to change culturally … about how we do politics and how we campaign.”

“I’m done sitting around waiting for someone else to maybe do it,” Abughazaleh said.

Associated Press writer Bruce Schreiner in Lexington, Ky., contributed to this report.

By SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A French court on Monday convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years — a hammer blow to the far-right leader’s presidential hopes and an earthquake for French politics.

Le Pen’s lawyer said she would appeal the verdict — but she will remain ineligible while she does and so could be ruled out of the 2027 presidential race. She was also sentenced to two years under house arrest.

The court ruling was a political as well as a judicial temblor for France, hobbling one of the leading contenders to succeed President Emmanuel Macron at the end of his second and final term. So broad were the political implications that even some of Le Pen’s opponents reacted by saying that the Paris court had gone too far.

FILE – This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows French far-right leader Marine Le Pen during her trial, facing court on charges of embezzling EU funds at the Paris court house, in Paris France, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Valentin Pasquier, File)

Le Pen herself wasn’t around to hear the chief judge pronounce the sentence that threw her career into a tailspin. By then, she’d already strode out of the courtroom, when the judge first indicated that the 56-year-old would be barred from office, without saying straight away for how long.

Although Le Pen didn’t immediately comment, her supporters quickly expressed disapproval. Jordan Bardella, her 29-year-old protégé who could replace her on the ballot in 2027 if she can’t run, said on X that Le Pen “is being unjustly condemned” and that French democracy “is being executed.”

Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, quickly took to social media to express his support, posting “Je suis Marine!” — I am Marine — on X.

Among political opponents of Le Pen who expressed unease was conservative lawmaker Laurent Wauquiez, who said the verdict put “a very heavy weight on our democracy.”

‘A political death’ scenario

The sentence could prevent Le Pen from making what would have been her fourth run for the presidency in 2027, a scenario she has previously described as a “political death.” The party’s most recognized figurehead and a formidable and seasoned political campaigner, Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party’s electoral support has grown in recent years.

Only an appeal ruling that overturns the ban on public office could restore her hopes of running. But with the election just two years away, time is running out and there’s no guarantee that an appeals court would rule more favorably. Appeals in France can take several years to conclude.

The verdict was a resounding defeat for Le Pen’s National Rally party, formerly the National Front.

She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation bloc’s regulations.

The judge handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like Le Pen, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers. Also convicted were 12 people who served as parliamentary aides and three others. Only one defendant was acquitted. All had denied wrongdoing.

The chief judge said Le Pen had been at the heart of “a system” that her party used to siphon off EU parliament funds, though she said they didn’t enrich themselves personally. The ruling described the embezzlement as “a democratic bypass” that deceived the parliament and voters.

From the front row of the court, Le Pen had initially shown no immediate reaction when the judge first declared her guilty. But she grew more agitated as the verdict was delivered in greater detail. She shook her head in disagreement as the judge said Le Pen’s party illegally used European funds for its own benefit.

“Incredible,” Le Pen she whispered at one point. She then abruptly left without warning, picking up her bag and striding out, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor, leaving many in courtroom in disbelief, turning their heads towards the door.

Rodolphe Bosselut, Le Pen’s lawyer, said he was “appalled” at the court’s decision, which he described as “extremely scandalous” and said would be appealed.

Le Pen has enjoyed growing support

During the nine-week trial that took place in late 2024, Le Pen argued that ineligibility “would have the effect of depriving me of being a presidential candidate” and disenfranchise her supporters.

“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election,” she told the panel of three judges.

Le Pen also serves as a lawmaker in France’s National Assembly, a role not affected by the ineligibility ruling that she can keep for now.

But if Macron dissolves parliament again as he did last year and calls early legislative elections, she would be barred from running.

Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France. Thomas Adamson in Paris and Justin Spike in Budapest contributed.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Elon Musk and his political operatives have tried to shape the closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court race in ways that are not immediately obvious but could be critical to Tuesday’s outcome.

Musk’s America PAC has sent paid canvassers across Wisconsin since early February, before conservative Brad Schimel advanced in a nonpartisan primary to face liberal Susan Crawford for an open seat on the state’s highest court, where liberal justices hold a 4-3 majority and retirement this year of a liberal justice puts majority control of the court in play.

Over the eight weeks since, canvassers are expected to have reached hundreds of thousands of potential Schimel voters, based on the more than $4.3 million alone that spending records a week before the election showed America PAC had poured into this labor-intensive aspect of the campaign.

Elon Musk presents a check for $1 million dollars to a man during a town hall Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

“As I travel around the state, I’ve been hearing from quite a few folks who say they’ve got America PAC knocks at their doors,” said Brian Schimming, the state Republican chairman. “And it’s not just in the big areas.”

Though the group has been aggressive in GOP-heavy Waukesha County in suburban Milwaukee, Schimming and others report hearing that America PAC canvassers have appeared in Racine County, a blue-collar area south of Milwaukee and areas such as Sauk County northwest of Madison.

“They have been on this more than anybody,” Schimming said.

Musk played up the stakes at an America PAC event Sunday night in Green Bay, saying Schimel was in danger of losing and calling for a movement to “dragnet the state.”

“Everybody’s going to mobilize everywhere like crazy for the next 48 hours,” he said. “And I think this will be important for the future of civilization. It’s that significant. You don’t hear me saying that very often. It’s a big deal.”

He encouraged attendees to sign up at America PAC’s website to be a “block captain,” for which they could earn $20 for knocking on doors in their neighborhoods and uploading a photo as proof.

“It’s … thumbs up and hold a picture of Judge Schimel. And that’s it, and you get $20,” he said.

Though America PAC declined to discuss details of its work, the group’s commitment confirms Musk’s uniquely powerful role in Republican politics as someone working closely with President Donald Trump and willing to spend tens of millions of dollars to boost Trump and his allies.

During the 2024 presidential election, Musk, the world’s richest person, committed more than $200 million to America PAC’s work on Trump’s behalf in the seven most competitive states, including Wisconsin, where Trump won by fewer than 30,000 votes, less than a percentage point.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court comes as the court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. Musk and America PAC are trying to elevate Schimel, who has attached himself publicly to Trump and Musk.

America PAC representatives were working the crowd Friday at a Schimel rally in Beaver Dam, northeast of Madison. They were seeking petition signatures to oppose “activist judges.” The political action committee promised $100 for each Wisconsin voter who signed the petition and another $100 for each signer they referred.

Musk has become a Democratic target and the center of the party’s messaging against Schimel. Crawford, who is backed by liberal billionaires including George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, referred to her opponent in their debate as “Elon Schimel.”

Many standing nearby waved signs in protest to Musk.

Protesters hold signs as people arrive for a town hall with Elon Musk, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

“Musk Hates Judges Who Do Their Job!,” said one man’s cardboard sign, held over his head. The man next to him held one that simply said, “NO DOGE,” referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump’s government cost-cutting effort, which Musk directs.

Musk drew widespread attention with the Sunday rally in Green Bay and his $1 million giveaways to people who sign the petition decrying judicial activism. Groups linked to Musk have spent more than $17 million to support Schimel in what’s become the most expensive judicial race in American history.

A significant portion of that money is going into the tedious but critical work of voter turnout.

As of one week before the election, America PAC had spent $4.3 million on canvassing alone, according to figures compiled by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for transparency in campaign spending.

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Americans for Prosperity, a group founded by anti-tax billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, is also canvassing in the supreme court race and also was active in Wisconsin during the 2024 campaign. But the group also was a distant second in the Supreme Court race, having spent only about a sixth of America PAC — $712,000 — on canvassing, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

While the millions America PAC has spent on canvassing are far beyond what other groups have committed, America PAC also had spent as of last week at least another $4 million on mail, printing, online advertising, phone-banking, text messaging and other organizing costs, also far ahead of other groups.

The group was canvassing this month in Sauk County, where the presidential candidate who took the state has won in five straight elections.

Trump last year won Sauk — split between Democratic-leaning areas closer to Madison and a more conservative rural northwest — by 626 votes after Democrat Joe Biden won the county by 615 votes in 2020.

America PAC canvassers were in Sauk County knocking on doors last fall, trying to reach voters who had voted Republican in the past but had not been reliably active.

“America PAC is in our neck of the woods,” said Jerry Helmer, the county’s Republican chairman. “They were up knocking on doors in the Wisconsin Dells this month. America PAC has been doing a really good job in our area. They are just killing it in Sauk County.”