A note left by the suspect who detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel stated that his actions were intended to gain public attention.
Letters recovered from the smartphone of Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, a highly decorated 37-year-old Army Green Beret, indicate that the New Year’s Day explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was not a terrorist act, but rather a deliberate attempt to rouse the American public. The January 1st incident involved a Tesla Cybertruck rigged with explosives, causing minor injuries to seven bystanders and minimal property damage.
Livelsberger’s writings, released Friday by Las Vegas police, reveal his deep dissatisfaction with various societal problems and personal struggles. He wrote of needing to “cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”
“This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake-up call,” Livelsberger wrote. “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives?”
We are the United States of America, the best country people to ever exist! But right now we are terminally ill and headed toward collapse.
He cited several concerns, including issues like food processing, obesity, economic inequality, homelessness, weak leadership, perceived lack of masculinity, and corruption.
“Stop obsessing over diversity. We are all diverse and DEI is a cancer,” he wrote, adding that “thankfully, we rejected the DEI candidate and will have a real President instead of Weekend at Bernie’s.”
“We must end the war in Ukraine with a negotiated settlement. It is the only way,” he noted, adding that “our population is too fat to join the military, yet we are facing a war with China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran before 2030.”
Another letter addressed to fellow service members, veterans, and citizens urged them to prevent Democrats from hindering Trump’s ascension to power and to “purge” the nation of perceived problems.
“We are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves,” he wrote. “Try peaceful means first, but be prepared to fight to get the Dems out of the federal government and military by any means necessary. They all must go, and a hard reset must occur for our country to avoid collapse.”
Master Sgt. Livelsberger, a highly decorated Special Forces member with deployments to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Congo, and reportedly Ukraine, had received numerous commendations, including multiple Bronze Stars. Officials confirmed he was struggling with PTSD and personal difficulties, including a recent separation from his wife. He apparently shot himself before detonating the explosives. While his writings offer insight into his mindset, investigators caution against using them to definitively explain his actions.