Despite the symbolism that might be associated with exploding a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, law enforcement officials said Thursday they were still trying to piece together why a five-time Bronze Star recipient and new father would orchestrate the New Year’s Day blast.
Zeroing in on a motive seemed complicated by the early portrait emerging of the Tesla’s driver, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado, who died in the incident that injured seven others.
A family member and former Army colleague described him as a highly-decorated combat veteran whose background in special forces and explosives seemed at odds with a blast which relied, in part, on fireworks.
And, they said, Livelsberger had a strong love of country – particularly the president-elect.
“When President Trump was in office (Livelsberger) would comment on his Facebook page about the things President Trump had said or done or how he’s helping the military,” the relative, who asked not to be named, told CNN. “Matt had a lot of respect for Mr. Trump – he just loved the guy.”
Livelsberger was not affiliated with a political party, according to the Colorado Secretary of State voter registration database.
An active-duty US Army Green Beret, Livelsberger was on leave from his base in Germany at the time of the blast – a combination of fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel in the bed of the vehicle detonated by a device controlled by the driver, sources told CNN. According to law enforcement, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the driver’s seat shortly before the explosive in the trunk of the Tesla detonated.
US officials familiar with Livelsberger’s military records told CNN he had been diagnosed with depression last year but had not been assessed to be a risk of violence or suicide.
Livelsberger’s body was so badly burned authorities identified him through charred identification cards and partial tattoos visible on his body. They said they are awaiting DNA and medical findings to make a final confirmation.
Investigators fanned out this week interviewing his family and friends and digging into phones and computers for clues. Livelsberger’s social media presence was sparse and, at the time of the explosion, made few if any references to politics.
“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of … the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle,” Spencer Evans, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Las Vegas division, said at a news conference Thursday. “But we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us, or suggests, it was because of this particular ideology.”
Police release video showing Cybertruck explode outside Las Vegas Trump Hotel
The day before the blast, Livelsberger appears to have sent an email to some online media outlets saying he was in possession of a “massive VBIED,” or vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and was armed, according to a copy reviewed by CNN.
Law enforcement has reviewed the message and examined where the email originated and believe it was written by Livelsberger, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN. The email expressed conspiratorial concerns about government agencies “tracking” him and suggested he had planned to travel to the US-Mexico border. The writing CNN reviewed did not make any reference to President-elect Donald Trump, Trump Hotel in Las Vegas or Tesla.
The Las Vegas explosion bore some striking similarities to a deadly attack in New Orleans earlier the same morning, when a driver with a US military background plowed a rented pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people. Both perpetrators used the company called Turo to rent their vehicles.
“Both of the subjects served at Fort Bragg North Carolina,” said Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, at a Thursday news conference, in reference to the military base now known as Fort Liberty. “What we do know about that is it’s a very large military base, and we have no record that they served in the same unit or even at the same years at Fort Bragg.”
McMahill added both men served in Afghanistan in 2009, though there are no indications they served in the same unit or province.
A fellow member of the Green Berets who served with Livelsberger in Afghanistan said a key focus of their mission was to dismantle a network of Taliban-aligned forces who had been detonating car bombs in and around Kabul in an effort to destabilize the government.
The former colleague, who asked not to be identified, said their unit was often tasked with keeping a crucial highway clear of improvised explosive devices.
“They would just be set up all along that highway and it seemed like – especially towards the tail end of the deployment – a lot of guys were getting struck,” he said. “Luckily, our unit was never struck, but other units that colocated with us got struck by IEDs.”
The fellow soldier, who had kept in touch with Livelsberger since their deployment, said he didn’t know whether the explosion of the Cybertruck was in any way inspired by the kind of attacks so common a feature of the unit’s mission.
The military colleague said he was shocked by the incident in Las Vegas, especially given Livelsberger’s impressive credentials: a Green Beret with a background in communications, IT and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles. Livelsberger also steadily advanced his rank in the military to team sergeant, the second-in-command to the captain in the special-forces detachment – a position he held until recently, the fellow soldier said.
“You don’t have to be a genius to say, this guy’s going to have his pick of options for career field when he gets out,” the soldier said.
Livelsberger was an Army Special Forces operations master sergeant, a senior enlisted rank, according to four US officials. He was on active duty in Germany with the 10th Special Forces Group but was on leave at the time of the incident, three officials said.
Livelsberger’s relative, who said he hadn’t spoken with him in at least a decade but saw updates of his life through Facebook posts, remembered Livelsberger as an intelligent and popular student in high school.
“He played most of the usual sports and was often the captain of the team,” he said.
The relative said Livelsberger wanted to be in the special forces from a young age and was very successful in his career, which included several tours in Afghanistan.
“If he really wanted to hurt people, he could have hurt a lot of people,” he said. “But that is not in his nature, it was never in his nature.”
Livelsberger’s military colleague described him as a “bighearted” member of the unit who procured toys for Afghan kids and helped build a doghouse for a stray dog adopted as a pet on the base.
“Even in a place like Afghanistan, where one’s heart can be hardened by the nature of the mission, he never seemed to go down that path and always seemed to have his humanity very much in place,” the fellow soldier said.
His former military colleague told CNN he’d stayed in occasional touch with Livelsberger since the end of their deployment and even sent a gift when he became a father in April last year. Livelsberger’s second wife, who he married in 2022, sent the colleague a thank-you letter, he said.
She did not respond to requests for comment from CNN.
The fellow soldier said his friend had never indicated he was struggling – either during their deployment to Afghanistan, where they experienced combat, or afterward.
“It just makes me really sad to know that maybe something was going on with Matt and none of us knew,” he said, after briefly choking up. “We all would have obviously reached out and done anything we could to help him.”
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include information on Livelsberger’s military records and other details.
Editor’s Note: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US: Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Globally: The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world.
Here’s what we know so far about the man believed to be responsible for the Cybertruck explosion:
1. Background: Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 35, is a resident of Las Vegas with a history of minor criminal offenses. He has reportedly had run-ins with the law in the past, but nothing as serious as the Cybertruck explosion.
2. Motive: The motive behind the Cybertruck explosion is still unclear, but some reports suggest that Livelsberger may have had a personal vendetta against the owner of the vehicle or a grudge against the company.
3. Arrest: Livelsberger was apprehended by authorities shortly after the explosion and is currently in police custody. He is facing multiple charges related to the incident, including arson and destruction of property.
4. Investigation: Law enforcement officials are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the Cybertruck explosion and any possible accomplices or motives involved. They are also looking into Livelsberger’s background to see if there are any connections to extremist groups or criminal organizations.
As the investigation unfolds, more details about Matthew Alan Livelsberger and his role in the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion are expected to come to light. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
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