An Army Special Forces officer’s uncle, whose nephew tragically took his own life in a Cybertruck explosion near the Las Vegas Trump International Hotel, has shed light on potential motivations behind the incident.

In an interview with The Independent, Dean Livelsberger discussed his nephew, 38-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, a recently promoted Green Beret who seemed to have a promising future before being discovered deceased in the remains of a burned vehicle on New Year’s Day. The distinctive Cybertruck was reportedly loaded with gasoline containers, camping fuel, and fireworks mortars, which contained most of the explosion, as noted by FBI investigators who questioned the choice of vehicle for such an act of destruction. Dean Livelsberger suggested that his nephew was in a state of distress and aimed to convey a political message through his tragic act.

The young man “could have created a bomb capable of devastating half of that hotel if he truly intended to harm others. Consider Oklahoma City… [ex-Army soldier Timothy] McVeigh was an ordinary soldier, not a Tier 1 operator like Matt,” Dean Livelsberger remarked, referencing the 1995 bombing that resulted in 168 fatalities due to a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Evidence from the Las Vegas incident indicates that Matthew Livelsberger shot himself before the truck detonated, injuring seven bystanders.

Matthew Livelsberger had been serving in the U.S. Army since 2006, with two deployments to Afghanistan and assignments in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Congo, as reported by the Army. He received two Bronze Stars for his bravery, including one with a valor device for acts of courage under fire, along with a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. At the time of his death, Livelsberger was on approved leave, according to the Daily Mail.

Livelsberger’s uncle characterized him as “100 percent a patriot” and likened him to a “Rambo-type” individual who was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump. “He frequently posted patriotic content on Facebook and was entirely devoted to his country,” he elaborated. “His admiration for Trump was evident, and he consistently demonstrated his identity as a deeply patriotic soldier and American. This commitment is one of the reasons he served in Special Forces for an extended period, not merely for a single tour of duty.”

As investigators strive to uncover a motive behind the attack, it has come to light that Livelsberger recently ended his marriage, with whom he has a young child. The couple resided in Colorado, where Livelsberger utilized the Turo app to rent a Cybertruck, which he subsequently drove to Los Angeles, as announced by FBI investigators during a press conference on Wednesday. Additionally, it was revealed that Livelsberger had trained at the same U.S. military facility as the ISIS-inspired veteran who perpetrated an attack on a crowd of revelers in New Orleans just hours prior, using a rented truck to ram into the crowd and resulting in 15 fatalities before being shot by law enforcement. On Thursday, the FBI stated that there is “no definitive link” between the assailant, Shamsud-din Jabbar, 42, and Livelsberger, despite the apparent coincidence.