The Colorado soldier behind the Cybertruck explosion wrote a ‘manifesto,’ police say

The Colorado soldier behind the Cybertruck explosion wrote a ‘manifesto,’ police say

The Colorado soldier who died by suicide when he blew up a cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel wrote a “manifesto” calling on Americans to “wake up” and was probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, local and federal law enforcement officials said Friday.

Las Vegas police and federal officials released new details about Army Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger of Colorado Springs. They confirmed that he had acted alone and was not linked to any terrorist groups, and reiterated that he was not linked to a terrorist attack on Wednesday in New Orleans that killed 14 people alongside the attacker. They also said it didn’t appear he harbored any animosity toward Trump.

“Although this incident is more public and high-profile than usual, it ultimately appears to be a tragic suicide case involving a decorated combat veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues,” said Spencer Evans, Las Des FBI Special Agent in Charge Vegas Field Division.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Sheriff Dori Koren speaks during a news conference about developments in an investigation into a New Year's Eve truck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Sheriff Dori Koren speaks during a news conference about developments in an investigation into a New Year’s Eve truck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Pentagon officials would not say whether Livelsberger, a 37-year-old master sergeant, might have suffered from mental health problems, but told The Associated Press on Friday that they had turned over his medical records to police.

Livelsberger also had ongoing family issues that contributed to his actions, the FBI and Las Vegas police said Friday.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that investigators learned through interviews that Livelsberger may have had an argument with his wife about relationship problems shortly before he rented the Tesla and bought the guns on Saturday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill referred to widespread speculation about Livelsberger’s identification and a document shared by “The Shawn Ryan Show Podcast” attributed to Livelsberger.

Investigators are confident that the document shared in the podcast came from Livelsberger, but have not fully reviewed it, Evans said. The FBI received a copy as a tip after Wednesday’s explosion and believes it was sent by Livelsberger.

In the document, Livelsberger writes about the use of drones from China on the East Coast, the cover-up of war crimes in Afghanistan, being pursued by federal law enforcement and already having a huge car bomb.

Investigators identified Livelsberger using credit cards, a military ID card and a passport that survived the blast, as well as his tattoos, Department of Defense dental records and a DNA sample from a family member, McMahill said.

Las Vegas police also shared two letters they received from one of Livelsberger’s phones urging Americans and military personnel to wake up and realize they are being led by “weak and reckless leadership.” Investigators are still trying to get information on a second phone and a laptop.

“This wasn’t a terrorist attack, it was a wake-up call. Americans only care about spectacle and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt involving fireworks and explosives?” Livelsberger wrote in the letters seized by police and released on Friday.

“Why did I personally do it now? “I needed to cleanse my spirit of the brothers I had lost and free myself from the burden of the lives I had taken,” the letter continued.

In one of the letters, Livelsberger appears to call for an insurrection and for soldiers and veterans to go to Washington DC to carry out a “cleanse.” He starts with peaceful means, but fights and uses “all necessary means” to remove the Democrats from the Federal Council government and military.

The second letter further addresses Livelsberger’s concerns about American culture, values ​​and wars, praises Trump as “a real president” and urges people to care about the president-elect, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , to flock.

Musk recently became a member of Trump’s inner circle after spending an estimated $250 million supporting Trump during the presidential campaign.

Trump has named Musk, the world’s richest man, to co-lead a new initiative to find ways to reduce the size and spending of government, and has also named Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, to head the Health and Human Services Department .

Police also recovered a “surveillance log” of Livelsberger’s phone, which he used as a diary for 10 days before the explosion. Those entries matched his movements seen through surveillance video, phone and financial records, including legally purchasing two guns in Colorado on Dec. 27 and picking them up on Dec. 30.

“We still have a large amount of data to go through,” said Las Vegas Sheriff’s Deputy Dori Koren. “There are thousands, if not millions, of videos, photos, documents and web logs that need to be analyzed.”

This undated photo provided by the Las Vegas Police Department shows the Tesla Cybertruck involved in an explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
This undated photo provided by the Las Vegas Police Department shows the Tesla Cybertruck involved in an explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Police Department via AP)

Tesla engineers extracted data from the Cybertruck that shows it was never fully in self-driving mode, Koren said.

Investigators don’t know how Livelsberger managed to detonate the bombs and kill himself at the same time, or why he chose Trump’s hotel or a Cybertruck for the explosion. Some of the data on his phone shows he was considering other locations, including the Grand Canyon, McMahill said.

Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces units that work to combat terrorism abroad and train partners. He had served in the Army since 2006 and rose through the ranks over a long career with deployments overseas, twice in Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said. According to a U.S. official, he had recently returned from a foreign assignment in Germany and was on approved leave at the time of his death.

Neighbors in Colorado Springs confirmed Thursday that his wife had recently had a baby.

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