LAS VEGAS (AP) — The New Year’s Day explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, involving a Tesla Cybertruck, was orchestrated by a decorated Army soldier as a deliberate act intended to be a “wake up call” for the nation, according to ongoing investigations. Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a Green Beret hailing from Colorado Springs, Colorado, died by suicide inside the vehicle just moments before the explosion.
Investigators have revealed notes left by Livelsberger on his cellphone which detailed that the explosive event was a “stunt” designed to capture attention and highlight the country’s perceived issues. These notes further indicated a deeply personal struggle, referencing a need to “cleanse” his mind “of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.” Livelsberger’s distinguished military service included deployments to Afghanistan starting in 2006.
“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,” Livelsberger stated in one of the letters recovered by authorities and made public on Friday. The explosion resulted in minor injuries to seven individuals but caused minimal damage to the Trump International Hotel itself. Authorities have confirmed that Livelsberger acted alone in this incident.
Livelsberger’s written communications encompassed a wide array of concerns, touching upon political discontent, societal problems, and both national and international matters, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He expressed a bleak outlook in one note, asserting that the U.S. was “terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”
Tesla engineers have been instrumental in assisting the investigation by retrieving data from the damaged Cybertruck. This data includes Livelsberger’s route from Colorado, through New Mexico and Arizona, to Las Vegas, charting his journey between charging stations, according to Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren.
“We still have a large volume of data to go through,” Koren commented on Friday. “There’s thousands if not millions of videos and photos and documents and web history and all of those things that need to be analyzed.”
Investigators are still working to fully understand if Livelsberger intended to make a broader political statement with the selection of the Tesla Cybertruck and the Trump branded hotel as the location for his act. However, law enforcement officials have indicated that Livelsberger did not express animosity towards President-elect Donald Trump. In fact, one of his notes conveyed a sentiment that the nation should “rally around” both Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Notably, Musk has recently become associated with Trump’s political circle. Neither Trump nor Musk were present in Las Vegas on the day of the incident. Both had recently attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve celebration at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.
“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,” stated Spencer Evans, the FBI special agent leading the Las Vegas field office, on Friday, emphasizing the personal tragedy behind the public spectacle.
Livelsberger’s death was determined to be the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The precise method by which Livelsberger simultaneously shot himself within the Cybertruck while triggering the explosives, which included fireworks and camp fuel, remains under investigation.
Among the remnants recovered from the charred Cybertruck were a handgun found near Livelsberger’s feet, another firearm, fireworks, his passport, military identification, credit cards, an iPhone, and a smartwatch. Authorities confirmed that both firearms were legally purchased.
In previous years, Livelsberger had confided in Alicia Arritt, a former girlfriend and Army nurse, about experiencing significant pain and exhaustion, which she attributed to a possible traumatic brain injury. He shared with Arritt, 39, whom he met in Colorado in 2018, details of persistent exhaustion, nighttime pain, and recurring memories of violence from his deployments in Afghanistan.
“My life has been a personal hell for the last year,” he communicated to Arritt in text messages from the early stages of their relationship, messages she shared with The Associated Press.
Green Berets represent the elite special forces of the U.S. Army, specializing in unconventional warfare. Livelsberger had achieved significant rank and served in Afghanistan on two occasions, as well as in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Congo, according to Army records. He had recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave at the time of his death. His military honors included five Bronze Stars, one with a valor device for bravery in combat, a combat infantry badge, and an Army Commendation Medal with valor.
Following the incident, authorities conducted a search at a townhouse in Livelsberger’s hometown of Colorado Springs on Thursday as part of their ongoing investigation. Neighbors indicated that the resident of the townhouse lived there with a wife and child. A neighbor, Cindy Helwig, recalled last seeing him when he borrowed a tool to repair an SUV, describing him as “a normal guy.”
The Cybertruck explosion occurred just hours after a separate incident in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar drove a truck into a crowd, injuring multiple people before being fatally shot by police. The FBI is investigating the New Orleans incident as a potential terrorist attack, believing Jabbar acted alone.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI continue to investigate the Trump Tower Cybertruck explosion to fully understand Livelsberger’s motivations and the specifics surrounding this act of protest and personal tragedy.
