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Crime

Driver of Cybertruck shot himself in head before Vegas explosion

Published

3 months ago

5 minute read

Cybertruck used in Trump International Hotel explosion in Las Vegas Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025

From The Center Square

By Shirleen Guerra

Law enforcement officials confirmed that 37-year-old former Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger, who lived in Colorado Springs, was behind the rented Cybertruck explosion at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.

Authorities confirmed that Livelsberger died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the explosion, which injured seven bystanders. Officials say there was no information as of Thursday connecting Livelsberger to a terrorist group.

The driver of the Cybertruck was identified as Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a U.S. Army special operations soldier who originally enlisted in 2006 until 2012.

Livelsberger, who was on leave at the time of his death, served in the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012 before joining the Army Reserve from July 2012 to December 2012. Livelsberger then entered the active-duty Army in December 2012.

Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference Thursday said his office is still waiting for DNA confirmation of the driver’s identity, and that the attack was unrelated at this time to the attack in New Orleans.

Livelsberger was the one identified driving the vehicle at each location as authorities retraced the route taken from Colorado to Nevada, McMahill said.

Officials stated that investigations into the explosion are underway.

The explosion occurred just before 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day near the hotel’s main entrance, and federal, state, and local authorities are jointly investigating.

FBI’s Denver field office, the Denver Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Colorado Springs Police Department confirmed activity at a residential address in Colorado Springs related to the explosion in Las Vegas but no further information would be provided at that time.

Local authorities confirmed a detonator possessed by Livelsberger initiated the explosion, which included fire mortars and camp fuel canisters found stuffed into the back of the Cybertruck.

President-elect Donald Trump took to his social media platform, blaming President Joe Biden’s open border policy, “I said, many times during Rallies, and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe.”

Investigators confirmed that the vehicle was driven from Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Livelsberger reportedly drove up and down Las Vegas Boulevard for about an hour before entering the valet area of the Trump Hotel.

Seven people were injured. Two were briefly hospitalized before being released, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The department has issued increased officer presence across the community, including the Las Vegas strip.

This attack came on the same day as fifteen people were killed on Bourbon Street after a man plowed his car into a crowd.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Houston, rented the F-150 Lightning truck and improvised explosive devices that were found in both the truck and in two different locations in the French Quarter, body armor, and an ISIS flag hanging from the tailgate.

The two suspects behind the separate attacks used Turo, a rental car app, to book the vehicles used at both locations.

“After the attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, @NYPDPC and I have been in constant communication,” posted New York City Mayor Eric Adams on X.

The mayor said that while there were no immediate threats to the city at the time, the heightened security was “out of an abundance of caution.” He stated that the city will have heightened security and increased NYPD presence at relevant locations, including at Trump Tower and in Times Square.

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2025 Federal Election

Liberal MP Paul Chiang Resigns Without Naming the Real Threat—The CCP

Published on April 1, 2025

By

The Opposition with Dan Knight     Dan Knight

After parroting a Chinese bounty on a Canadian citizen, Chiang exits the race without once mentioning the regime behind it—opting instead to blame “distractions” and Donald Trump.

So Paul Chiang is gone. Stepped aside. Out of the race. And if you’re expecting a moment of reflection, an ounce of honesty, or even the basic decency to acknowledge what this was really about—forget it.

In his carefully scripted resignation statement, Chiang didn’t even mention the Chinese Communist Party. Not once. He echoed a foreign bounty placed on a Canadian citizen—Joe Tay—and he couldn’t even bring himself to name the regime responsible.

Instead, he talked about… Donald Trump. That’s right. He dragged Trump into a resignation about repeating CCP bounty threats. The guy who effectively told Canadians, “If you deliver a Conservative to the Chinese consulate, you can collect a reward,” now wants us to believe the real threat is Trump?

I haven’t seen Donald Trump put bounties on Canadian citizens. But Beijing has. And Chiang parroted it like a good little foot soldier—and then blamed someone who lives 2,000 miles away.

But here’s the part you can’t miss: Mark Carney let him stay.

Let’s not forget, Carney called Chiang’s comments “deeply offensive” and a “lapse in judgment”—and then said he was staying on as the candidate. It wasn’t until the outrage hit boiling point, the headlines stacked up, and groups like Hong Kong Watch got the RCMP involved, that Chiang bailed. Not because Carney made a decision—because the optics got too toxic.

And where is Carney now? Still refusing to disclose his financial assets. Still dodging questions about that $250 million loan from the Bank of China to the firm he chaired. Still giving sanctimonious speeches about “protecting democracy” while his own caucus parrots authoritarian propaganda.

If you think Chiang’s resignation fixes the problem, you’re missing the real issue. Because Chiang was just the symptom.

Carney is the disease.

He covered for it. He excused it. He enabled it. And now he wants to pose as the man who will stand up to foreign interference?

He can’t even stand up to it in his own party.

So no, we’re not letting this go. Chiang may be gone—but the stench is still in the room. And it’s wearing a tailored suit, smiling for the cameras, and calling itself “leader of the Liberal Party.”

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2025 Federal Election

RCMP Confirms It Is ‘Looking Into’ Alleged Foreign Threat Following Liberal Candidate Paul Chiang Comments

Published on March 31, 2025

By

Sam Cooper

The confirmation followed a day of escalating pressure on Canadian law enforcement after The Bureau revealed that the UK-based human rights organization Hong Kong Watch sent a formal letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, calling for a criminal investigation into Chiang’s reported remarks.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed late Monday it is actively reviewing the controversy surrounding Liberal MP Paul Chiang’s alleged remarks that appeared to endorse delivering a political rival to a foreign government in exchange for a bounty.

In a statement sent to The Bureau, the RCMP said: “Foreign actor interference, including instances of transnational repression, continues to be a pervasive threat in Canada. The RCMP takes all such reports and allegations seriously and — in close partnership with intelligence, law enforcement and regulatory agencies — dedicates significant resources to combatting and investigating criminal activity related to foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes.”

“The RCMP is looking into the matter,” the statement continued, “however no specific details can be provided at this time.”

The confirmation followed a day of escalating pressure on Canadian law enforcement after The Bureau revealed that the UK-based human rights organization Hong Kong Watch sent a formal letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, calling for a criminal investigation into Chiang’s reported remarks. The comments, made during a January meeting with Chinese-language journalists, suggested that Conservative candidate Joe Tay could be brought to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto to claim a bounty placed on him by the Hong Kong police under Beijing’s National Security Law.

The organization alleged the remarks could constitute “counselling to commit kidnapping” under Canada’s Criminal Code. In their letter, Hong Kong Watch also referenced the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act, which prohibits attempts to coerce or intimidate individuals for the benefit of a foreign state.

While the RCMP’s statement did not confirm the launch of a formal investigation, it emphasized that if “criminal or illegal activities occurring in Canada [are] found to be backed by a foreign state, it is within the RCMP’s mandate to investigate this activity.”

The RCMP said it does not typically disclose information related to ongoing investigations unless charges are laid. Nor will it confirm which individuals may be under protective watch.

Earlier Monday, Tay confirmed that he contacted the RCMP over concerns for his personal safety even before Chiang’s comments became public. Chiang, a former police officer and Liberal candidate in Markham–Unionville, has apologized for the remarks, calling them a “terrible lapse in judgment.”

Meanwhile, more than 40 Hong Kong diaspora organizations based in Canada and abroad issued a joint statement condemning Chiang’s remarks and calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to remove him as a candidate. Carney told reporters in Toronto that Chiang still has his “confidence,” and described the incident as a “teachable moment.”

The RCMP said its “overarching priority is the safety and security of the public,” and encouraged anyone who feels threatened online or in person to report such incidents to their local police. In cases of immediate danger, individuals are urged to call 911.

The statement also pointed to the existence of protective mechanisms for election candidates, including through Elections Canada and the federal government.

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