By Noble Brigham
Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS — The man behind the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had other “personal grievances,” but held no animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump, authorities said Friday.
Officials said they did not know why 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger chose Trump International as the location for the New Year’s Day blast. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said he may have also considered a Grand Canyon location.
Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas division, said at a news conference Friday that the investigation hinted at a possible motive.
“Investigative steps have discovered and information from the Army indicates that he likely suffered from PTSD, and we are also aware that there were potential other family issues or personal grievances in his own life that may have been contributing factors,” Evans said.
Authorities have said Livelsberger shot himself in the head, and that seven people suffered minor injuries in the explosion. McMahill said investigators believe the detonation and suicide were simultaneous.
McMahill previously said Livelsberger was a military operations sergeant who served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret.
Writings provide clues
Notes that police said were found on a phone near Livelsberger’s body offer clues about his political views.
“Consider this last sunset of ’24 and my actions the end of our sickness and a new chapter of health for our people,” he wrote, according to the records. “Rally around the Trump, Musk, Kennedy, and ride this wave to the highest hegemony for all Americans!”
Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are close allies.
According to authorities, Livelsberger also wrote: “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives? Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”
Livelsberger sent a note that is now in possession of a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor who has a podcast about the problems encountered by military personnel, according to two law enforcement sources.
The note, which is still in podcast host Shawn Ryan’s possession, has not been released, but the FBI is working with him to determine the contents.
McMahill said investigators were aware that a podcast received a letter but had not completely verified the document. He later said that he was referencing Ryan’s podcast.
FBI: no clear tie to New Orleans attack
Livelsberger had served in Germany as a U.S. Army member but was on leave in Colorado before he died, according to McMahill. The sheriff said he lived in Colorado Springs.
An Army spokesperson said Livelsberger received numerous awards, including Bronze Stars and Army Commendation Medals.
Livelsberger had served at the base previously known as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the driver who rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans hours before the explosion, also spent time, according to McMahill. In the New Orleans attack, 14 revelers were killed before the driver was shot and killed by police.
The sheriff also said both men served in Afghanistan in 2009 but that there was no record they were in the same unit.
Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said Thursday that the investigation has found that Jabbar acted alone and aligned himself with the Islamic State group.
Evans said Livelsberger prepared for the explosion alone. Authorities have not found any connection between Livelsberger and a terrorist organization, he said.
“There is no evidence that these two events are connected,” Evans said Friday. “The only things that we have connecting them are incidental, what we believe to be coincidental similarities.”
He added, “Although this incident is more public and more sensational than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was struggling with PTSD and other issues.”
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