A decorated veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder calls US government leaders “weak” and appears to admit he deliberately blew up a building Tesla Police said Friday that an electric truck showed up at the entrance to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Dori Koren said investigators were able to access one of two cellphones found in the Cybertruck and viewed a The text in the app, which appears to act as a diary, records some of Matthew Alan Livelsberger’s movements and mental state from December 21 to New Year’s Eve.
Coren said two letters in the mobile app hinted at a possible motive for the explosion. In a letter, he told “comrades, veterans and all Americans” that it was time to “wake up” because the country’s leadership was “weak” and “only enriching itself.”
The second letter seemed to shed more light on Lifsberg’s thinking.
“We are the United States of America, the best country ever, and now we are terminally ill and headed for collapse,” the second letter read. “This is not a terrorist attack. This is a wake-up call. Americans are all about spectacle and violence. What better way to get my point across than with stunts like pyrotechnics and explosives…I need to clear my mind of my lost brothers and free myself of the burden of my life-taking.
Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas division, added that the investigation and consultation with the Army determined that Lifsberger may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and that investigators were aware of the potential for “Family or personal issues”.
Koren said Lifsberg also expressed other grievances, including conflicts elsewhere in the world and domestic and social issues. He warned that investigators would continue to examine evidence found on the phones, and Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said investigators did not have access to a second phone found in the Cybertruck.
Evans said authorities have not determined any clear connection between the Cybertruck explosion and suspected terrorist attacks in the United States. The incident on Bourbon Street in New Orleans hours earlier left 14 people dead..
The only connections investigators found appeared to be accidental and coincidental, including that the two suspects rented vehicles from the same company.
Evans said Lifsberger also has no animosity toward President-elect Trump.
On Thursday, Lifsberger was specifically identified as a suspect in the bombing. Las Vegas police said. The Clark County coroner determined he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Authorities said they identified Lifsberg’s badly burned body through various means, including family DNA and tattoos.
According to law enforcement officials, Lifsberg, 37, rented a Tesla Cybertruck and drove from Colorado to Las Vegas while on approved veterans’ leave. As he parked outside the entrance to the Trump Hotel, fireworks and gasoline in the bed of the truck ignited.
Those who served with Liversberg for nearly two decades described him as a dedicated, patriotic soldier and a good teammate. Two soldiers who served with him in recent years expressed surprise at his behavior, with one saying he was “not a violent person.”
A soldier who served with Lifsberger said he often expressed his political views on social media, describing most of his posts as “patriotic” and very pro-military, but added that this led to conflicts with some Comrades were divided over political differences.
“He posted a lot of political messages on social media that made some of us uncomfortable,” the person said. The soldiers asked that their names be withheld because they were not authorized to speak publicly about military personnel.
Alicia Arritt, Lifsberg’s ex-girlfriend, told NBC News She dated him on and off for about three years. She said he was a proud soldier who also struggled with chronic pain but hid it from his superiors.
She said he had no overt political leanings when she met him and that she had lost contact with him in recent years, receiving texts from him out of the blue in recent days. The messages included him renting a Cybertruck but gave no hint of what he was going to do.
Lifsberger’s uncle, Dean Lifsberger, also told The Independent Lifsberg is a very patriotic American and an avid supporter of Trump. He did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for an interview.
NBC News reviewed social media profiles that appeared to belong to Livelsberger, which showed a man who traveled frequently and had recently given birth to a child. Army officials said he first enlisted in 2006, served in the National Guard and Army Reserves, and reentered active duty in the Army in December 2012 as a U.S. Army Special Operations soldier.
Online, Livelsberger documented travels to Thailand and Italy on Tripadvisor and contributed photos to Google Maps, including food at a bar bistro in San Juan, Puerto Rico and a church in France, as well as an account of a club in Puerto Rico. Scam warning. Georgia country. He also posts information about attractions in Colorado, where he lives.
Otherwise, Lifsberg has a relatively limited online presence, including a LinkedIn page and Facebook profile.
During his military career, Lifsberg has deployed to the Republic of Congo in 2014, Ukraine in 2016, Tajikistan in 2016, and Afghanistan in 2017, 2018, and 2019 .
Public records show that Lifsberg married in 2012 and later divorced in 2018. Records also list a marriage application filed in 2022. The photo shows her wearing a wedding ring.
In September, Lifsberg posted a photo on Facebook of him and his partner holding their newborn, and then posted a photo of himself holding the child in front of a body of water. His right arm is covered in tattoos – which law enforcement later used to help identify his body after the Cybertruck explosion – which shows a recently added tattoo sleeve near his right elbow: three interlocking satellites. Crescent moon symbol.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or live chat at: 988lifeline.org. You can also visit TalkingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
