Former Green Beret and retired MMA fighter Tim Kennedy appeared on a military reality TV competition in 2013 with Vegas Cybertruck bomber Matthew Livelsberger and has been speaking out on social media and cable news about his recollections.
Watching news coverage, he realized that he knew the man who parked his vehicle outside Trump International Hotel on New Year’s Day, shot himself, and detonated incendiary devices that resulted in a large explosion. There were no casualties besides the driver, although seven bystanders sustained minor injuries.
Kennedy:
13 years ago I competed in a shooting competition on History Channel called The Ultimate Soldiers Challenge. My partner in this competition was Matt Burg (aka Matt Livelsberger) Last night when I saw old photos of him on the news, I put together that it was the same guy. pic.twitter.com/wVC3E4viTm
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 4, 2025
He followed up with a second post indicating the disturbed man who killed himself in such a dramatic (and dangerous) fashion was not the man he knew:
He was a sincere, hard-working, talented, and competent Special Forces operator. I am flabbergasted and heartbroken to hear the news. None of this makes sense and I like many others are confused and want answers.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 4, 2025
More–>> Stunning New Information From Vegas Authorities on Cybertruck Explosion Gives Insight Into Motive
NEW: Cybertruck Suspect Sustained Gunshot Wound to the Head Just Before Vehicle Exploded
The two contestants did not know each other before appearing on the show:
Livelsberger was featured on the third episode of History Channel’s “Ultimate Soldier Challenge,” which aired on March 4, 2013, and forced participants to complete a mock operation of SEAL Team Six’s raid on Osama Bin Laden.
The Army Special Forces member, who went by his nickname “Matt Berg,” teamed up with Tim Kennedy against two commandos seemingly from Norway’s Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) unit and a pair of “rogue” military contractors.
Livelsberger and Kennedy hadn’t met before the episode was filmed, but placed first in each challenge and won the “Ultimate Soldier Challenge.”
As RedState’s Susie Moore reported, new information about the bomber continues to be released as authorities investigate. It would appear that Livelsberger did not intend to create a mass casualty event, because if that was his desire, he certainly had the skills to do it.
Here’s some of what we know:
Authorities recovered the phone of Matthew Livelsberger, the 37-year-old man believed to be the driver of the Cybertruck. The phone was damaged in the explosion, but they were able to extract the data.
They’re classifying the incident as a “suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device” (Suicide-VBED).
The coroner determined that Livelsberger sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound, describing it as “intra-orbital,” meaning he placed the gun in his mouth and discharged it, with the round coming out the left side of his head.
As to motive, they’re still going through all the data, but the note application contained two letters. One was addressed to “Fellow service members, veterans, and all Americans,” and said, “Time to wake up. We are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves.”
- The other letter includes the comment, “We are the United States of America, the best country people to ever exist! But right now we are terminally ill and headed toward collapse.” The note continued:
- “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?
- “Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”
At this juncture, it would seem that this was an act of a deeply troubled individual but that this was not an ISIS-inspired attack. There has been no connection established between this event and the horrific New Year’s Day Bourbon Street massacre. It’s sad that he came to this point, but we can feel blessed that he didn’t take a lot of innocents along with him.
