A Green Beret who drove an explosives-laden Tesla Cybertruck to Las Vegas and detonated its payload at Trump International Hotel left a suicide note saying the spectacle was intended as a “wake up call” for America and was not intended as an act of terrorism, according to authorities.
“This was not a terrorist attack,” wrote Matthew Livelsberger, who police say fatally shot himself before Wednesday’s explosion. “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?”
At a Friday news conference in Las Vegas, local and federal law enforcement officials released portions of a notes and letters that suggested the former Army master sergeant and Afghanistan war veteran was partly motivated by his experiences in combat, as well as his view of political events unfolding in the United States.
“Why did I personally do it 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,” the 37-year-old wrote.
Authorities have not released the soldier’s complete writings recovered on a cellphone found inside the destroyed vehicle.
“These are just excerpts,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said.
“He does offer additional information that is varying on the spectrum in terms of political grievances, issues about conflicts elsewhere — not here — domestic issues, societal issues … including personal challenges as well,” Koren said.
The New Year’s Day blast came hours after a terrorist attack in New Orleans, where an Army veteran drove another truck through a crowded street, killing 14 and injuring about 30 others.
Given that both attacks appeared to be ideologically motivated, authorities wondered initially whether the two events might be connected. Investigators have since determined that the New Orleans attacker acted alone.
Among other writing excerpts released Friday were passages in which Livelsberger expressed frustration with the nation’s direction.
“Fellow servicemembers, veterans and all Americans. TIME TO WAKE UP! We are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves”
He also wrote that that the United States was the best country “to ever exist! But right now we are terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”
Livelsberger served as a Green Beret master sergeant in the Army. He spent the majority of his time at Ft. Carson in Colorado and in Germany, according to authorities. He was on approved leave from Germany at the time of his death.
On his Facebook profile, Livelsberger once criticized the withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Afghanistan in 2021. He called it the “biggest foreign-policy failure in the history of the United States.”
Times staff writers Summer Lin, Hannah Fry, Richard Winton and Terry Castleman contributed to this report.
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