Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger was clearly shaken by what he saw in Afghanistan. In the last few days of his life, the Special Forces soldier wrote in a note released by authorities, "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." Livelsberger was found dead after his rental car, filled with fireworks and gas canisters, exploded in Las Vegas on New Year's Day.
Livelsberger had also allegedly emailed a "manifesto" to military podcaster Shawn Ryan explaining his motives. (FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans told reporters that the bureau hadn't "conclusively proven" who the email was from, though it had "strong evidence" that "lead us to believe that it was in fact him who wrote it.") The message was rambling and fantastical, claiming that China was poised to attack the White House with antigravity drones and that Livelsberger had nearly been kidnapped by the government.
