2020 Nashville bombing

On March 15, 2021, investigators eventually came to the conclusion that Warner had acted alone in the bombing, and that the bombing was not connected to terrorism. The bombing was a result of wanting to end his own life, driven by life stresses. He was also fueled by paranoia, conspiracy theories, and the deterioration of interpersonal relationships. Warner picked the area to make an impact on the city, while also trying to minimize injury. The FBI also stated that there was no evidence of Warner wanting to bring social or political change, or that any person or business was specifically targeted.

On December 25, 2020, Anthony Quinn Warner detonated a recreational vehicle (RV) bomb in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States, killing himself, injuring eight people and damaging dozens of buildings in the surrounding area. It took place at 166 Second Avenue North between Church Street and Commerce Street at 6:30 am, adjacent to an AT&T network facility, resulting in days-long communication service outages.

The explosion was caused by a car bomb carried in a Thor Motor Coach Chateau RV that was parked outside an AT&T network facility on Second Avenue North in downtown Nashville at 1:22 am on December 25, 2020. Four to five hours after the RV arrived, people nearby were awakened by the sound of rapid gunfire in at least three bursts, followed by a computerized female voice broadcasting over a public address system: "All buildings in this area must be evacuated now. If you can hear this message, evacuate now." "Stay clear of this vehicle", "Do not approach this vehicle", and "Your primary objective is to evacuate these buildings now" were also among the messages broadcast from the RV. The broadcast warned that there was a bomb in the vehicle, a 15-minute countdown elapsed, and the speakers switched to snippets from the 1964 song "Downtown" by Petula Clark.

The Nashville Fire Department evacuated the downtown riverfront, and Mayor Cooper issued a curfew for the affected area, which was lifted by December 28. The FAA issued a notice declaring a circular area with a radius of 1 nautical mile (1.15 mi; 1.85 km), centered around the site of the bombing, as "National Defense Airspace", effective that afternoon and lasting for five days. The bombing adversely affected many small business owners operating in the area, who were already dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state and the aftermath of a tornado that passed through the city in March 2020.

Addressing the terrorism classification debate, a USA Today December 2020 op-ed by Max Abrahms and Joseph Mroszczyk stated that the bombing exhibited an unprecedented combination of features, each of which could be found in different modern attacks labeled as "terrorist": the intentional minimization of casualties as exhibited by "left-wing groups... targeting... property instead of humans", the perpetrator's suicide as a method "uncommonly employed... by those like Warner who are trying to minimize human suffering", no clear motive or manifesto, and the use of a car bomb as seen in Islamic terrorist attacks. The Nashville bombing was unique in that it combined all of these traits, which the authors stated was without precedent. National security expert Dr. Erroll Southers told local news outlet WKRN-TV he saw similarities to the Provisional Irish Republican Army, given how Warner warned the public about the bomb and allowed the area to be evacuated before detonation.

In the weeks leading up to the bombing, Warner quit his job, gave away his car, and executed a quitclaim deed transferring his Nashville duplex home to a Los Angeles woman for $0. He had previously executed a quitclaim deed for a different Nashville house in 2019, transferring his interest in the home to the same woman. Reportedly, Warner had told the woman to whom he gave his car that he had cancer, although whether he actually had cancer is not known. A neighbor said that just before Christmas, Warner had said that "Nashville and the world is never going to forget me." Credit card and receipt records examined by investigators showed that Warner had purchased components that could be used to make bombs.

Authorities initially said that Warner had not attracted the attention of police prior to the bombing. However, it was later revealed that Warner's girlfriend, as well as her attorney, had met with police on August 21, 2019. The girlfriend said that Warner had been making bombs in the RV, and her attorney, who previously represented Warner, indicated that he believed her. Police were unable to make contact with Warner; did not enter Warner's home, yard, or RV; and eventually closed the case as unfounded after an officer observing the home for a few days reported no evidence of bomb-making. Following the visit, police forwarded an incident report to and requested a database check from the FBI. Neither the FBI nor the Department of Defense found anything suspicious regarding Warner.

Warner is also "believed to have spent time hunting for alien life forms in a nearby state park." The FBI said that, prior to the bombing, he "sent materials which espoused his viewpoints to several acquaintances throughout the country." The packages, which the FBI is investigating, included writings in which he expresses belief in 9/11 conspiracy theories, moon landing conspiracy theories, and the reptilian conspiracy theory. He also referenced a UFO conspiracy theory in which space aliens had purportedly begun to attack Earth in September 2011, which was covered up by the media. He wrote, in part, "Everything is an illusion" and "there is no such thing as death".

Warner was raised in Nashville's Antioch neighborhood and graduated from Antioch High School in the mid-1970s. His late father, Charles Bernard Warner (1932-2011), had been a BellSouth employee in Nashville, which merged with AT&T in 2006. Anthony Warner worked in a series of information technology jobs, including as an independent computer technician contracted with a real estate firm, and he had also owned a company licensed to produce burglar alarms from 1993 to 1998. He served two years' probation for felony marijuana possession in 1978 but had no other arrests or criminal record. Late in his life, Warner was involved in a family dispute that went to court after he had transferred ownership of a family home to himself directly before his brother's death in 2018; the case was dismissed the following year.

Over 60 different buildings, including both commercial and residential properties, were affected by the blast. Over 1,000 people were left jobless, and over 400 local residents were displaced from their homes. Over a third of all directly affected buildings remained temporarily or permanently closed as of one year later. Of those that were shuttered, several cited hardship from both the blast and the COVID-19 pandemic as factors in doing so. Among those closed included the George Jones Museum and Bar, the Old Spaghetti Factory, a Hooters restaurant, and a franchise location for The Melting Pot. Some affected businesses, such as the Coyote Ugly Saloon remained temporarily closed for extended periods, while others were forced to relocate out of their 2nd Ave venues.

Authorities concluded that 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner (January 17, 1957 – December 25, 2020), a longtime resident of Nashville, was the bomber, that his remains were found in the wreckage, and that there was no indication anyone else was involved.