Nashville Bomber Relatively Unknown to Police
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Jan 04, 2021
Anthony Warner lived a pretty squeaky clean life, until Christmas that is. For whatever reason, Warner drove an RV from his residence to downtown Nashville, played a message over a loudspeaker warning people to vacate the area then exploded the vehicle.
Other than Warner, no one was killed in the massive explosion, and to date, no one really knows why he exploded the vehicle. There have been some odd manifestations from ongoing investigations, such as the possibility of multiple conspiracy theories that Warner believed that shape-shifting reptiles take on a human form to take over society. He also had discussed taking trips to hunt aliens, and that he believed in some sort of 5G technology conspiracy theory.
Warner’s girlfriend, Pamela Perry, warned law enforcement in August 2019 that he had been making bombs in his RV. Police responded but were not able to connect with him, and were not able to see inside the RV. The only brush with the law was a 1970s marijuana-related arrest. While at the residence in August 2019, officer saw no evidence of a crime and had no authority to enter his home or fenced property where the RV was stored.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were not aware of Warner, and apparently any investigation or property search would not have been allowed because there was no probably cause for a search warrant. Federal agents continue to sort through Warner’s writings and manifestos, as well as his digital footprint. What is known through Warner’s attorney Raymond Throckmorton that he frequently talked about military and bomb making, and that Warner is capable of making a bomb. While Throckmorton was listed as a legal advisor, he said it had been several years ago when he represented his client, and even then it was a civil case.
The bombing happened on Christmas morning well before the downtown streets were busy, even for a Christmas day. Police that happened to be in the area had responded to shots being fired, and heard the announcement that residents should vacate the area because of a potential explosive. Police had no way of knowing the veracity of the announcement but began to knock on doors to clear the area of residents. The recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes was given, followed by a recorded of Petula Clark’s 1964 vocal “Downtown.” Dozens of buildings were damaged and several people were injured.
Investigators have not uncovered a motive.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is editor-in-chief of Security Today magazine.