A decorated Army veteran who died after detonating explosives in a Tesla Cybertruck outside one of Donald Trump’s hotels in Las Vegas left behind notes claiming his actions were not terrorism – but a “wake-up call” for America.
Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an active member of the US Army Special Forces, shot himself before triggering the violent explosion on New Year’s Day.
Las Vegas police revealed on Friday that two notes were recovered from a charred mobile phone found in the wreckage of the vehicle.
In one of the recovered notes, Livelsberger addressed “fellow service members, veterans and all Americans”, telling them it was time to “wake up”.
Two notes were recovered from a charred mobile phone found in the wreckage of the vehicle
REUTERS
The message criticised US leadership as “weak” and claimed they “only serve to enrich themselves”, police said.
In further writings discovered on his phone, investigators found what appeared to be a journal documenting Livelsberger’s movements and state of mind from December 21 to New Year’s Eve.
The documents were accessed from one of two phones discovered in the destroyed Cybertruck, according to Clark County Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren.
In a second letter, Livelsberger wrote: “We are the United States of America, the best country… to ever exist, but right now, we are terminally ill and headed towards collapse.”
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‘This was not a terrorist attack. It was a wake up call,’ Livelsberger had written
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“This was not a terrorist attack. It was a wake up call,” he stated in the recovered notes.
He also explained his choice of method, writing: “Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives.”
The messages were found in the notes application of his burned mobile phone, which was recovered from the scene by investigators.
“I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took,” Livelsberger had written.
CCTV footage from the scene showed the car violently bursting into flames as sparks flew across the streetXBut Tesla owner Elon Musk said the bombing was unequivocally a terror attack.
Musk said the car firm’s senior team had “never seen anything like this” – before hailing how the “evil knuckleheads” behind the blast “picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack”.
The Cybertruck “actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken”, he wrote.