Nashville woke up to the strangest Christmas soundtrack imaginable in 2020: an RV parked on 2nd Avenue, a calm recorded warning to evacuate… and “Downtown” playing like a twisted holiday playlist no one asked for. We are going to walk through the accepted timeline of the Christmas Day bombing, what investigators say happened, and what the FBI concluded about the man behind it.

Then we follow the story into the weird side streets, where reality starts to bend. Reincarnation loops. “High energy events.” Alleged reptilian watchers in the woods. A camping trip that turned into a front-row seat to paranoia, strange gear, and a belief that something evil was hiding in plain sight.

We’ll separate confirmed facts from internet fog, explore what fringe and UFO circles claim it all really meant, and bring it home with the uncomfortable truth: sometimes the most unsettling part isn’t the conspiracy… it’s how fast a mind can build one when everything else is falling apart. All that and more this week on Hysteria 51!

Special thanks to this week’s research sources:

PRIMARY / OFFICIAL

1) FBI Nashville Field Office. “FBI Releases Report on Nashville Bombing.” March 15, 2021.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/fbi-releases-report-on-nashville-bombing

2) FBI Nashville Field Office. “Seeking Information Concerning Operator or Owner of RV Linked to Explosion.” December 25, 2020.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/seeking-information-concerning-operator-or-owner-of-rv-linked-to-explosion

3) FBI Nashville Field Office. “FBI Memphis Special Agent in Charge Announces Identity of Remains Discovered in Nashville Explosion Site; Multi-Agency Investigation Continues.” December 27, 2020.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/nashville/news/fbi-memphis-special-agent-in-charge-announces-identity-of-remains-discovered-in-nashville-explosion-site-multi-agency-investigation-continues

4) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). “SAFE-COM and NCSWIC Release Communications Dependencies Case Study: Nashville.” June 13, 2022.

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/safecom-and-ncswic-release-communications-dependencies-case-study-nashville

LOCAL / INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

5) Finley, Jeremy (WSMV4 Investigates). “FBI: Nashville Christmas Day bomber wanted explosion to break ‘reincarnation loop’ (New photos show Anthony Warner’s device…).” December 22, 2025.

https://www.wsmv.com/2025/12/22/fbi-nashville-christmas-day-bomber-wanted-explosion-break-reincarnation-loop/

6) Hall, Ben & Wisniewski, Kevin (NewsChannel 5 Investigates / WTVF). “Nashville bomber’s bizarre writings reveal belief in aliens and lizard people.” January 4, 2021.

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/nashville-bombers-bizarre-writings-reveal-belief-in-aliens-and-lizard-people

NATIONAL / WIRE REPORTING

7) ABC News. “FBI report finds Nashville bomber wanted to kill himself, not motivated by terrorism.” March 15, 2021.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-report-finds-nashville-bomber-wanted-kill-motivated/story?id=76471078

8) PBS NewsHour. “FBI says Nashville bomber driven by conspiracies, paranoia.” March 15, 2021.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/fbi-says-nashville-bomber-driven-by-conspiracies-paranoia

9) Associated Press. “FBI: Nashville bomber sent material to ‘acquaintances’.” (Published January 2, 2021.)

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-bombings-8d59b300ed4b41d050a8cc86f500351a

10) CBS News. “Nashville bomber sent writings espousing conspiracy theories to multiple people before explosion.” January 3, 2021.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nashville-bomber-anthony-quinn-sent-conspiracy-theories-to-people-before-explosion/

11) Reuters. “Nashville bombing suspect may have believed in lizard people, aliens — source.” January 3, 2021.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/nashville-bombing-suspect-may-have-believed-lizard-people-aliens-source-2021-01-03/

12) Reuters. “‘He was not on our radar’: authorities search for motive in Nashville blast.” December 29, 2020.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/he-was-not-our-radar-authorities-search-motive-nashville-blast-2020-12-28/

13) Reuters. “Motor home explodes in Nashville, possible human remains found near site.” December 26, 2020.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/motor-home-explodes-nashville-possible-human-remains-found-near-site-2020-12-26/

14) NBC (via NBC San Diego). “Feds probing if Nashville bomber believed in lizard people conspiracy.” December 30, 2020.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/feds-probing-if-nashville-bomber-believed-in-lizard-people-conspiracy/2483371/

FACT CHECKS

15) Reuters Fact Check. “Debunking conspiracy links between Nashville explosion and Dominion.” December 29, 2020.

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/fact-check-debunking-conspiracy-links-between-nashville-explosion-dominion-and-idUSKBN2931AJ/

16) PolitiFact. “No, AT&T was not conducting an audit of Dominion Voting Systems machines in Nashville.” December 29, 2020.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/dec/29/facebook-posts/no-t-was-not-conducting-audit-dominion-voting-syst/

17) Associated Press Fact Check. “AT&T not conducting voting machine audit near Nashville after explosion.” December 28, 2020.

https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-9898209641

18) WRAL. “Fact check: 3 conspiracy theories about the Nashville bombing.” December 30, 2020.

https://www.wral.com/story/fact-check-3-conspiracy-theories-about-the-nashville-bombing/19450775/

CONTEXT / BACKGROUND

19) Business Insider. “Lizard-people conspiracy theory origins (and why it resurfaced after the Nashville bombing).” January 7, 2021.

https://www.businessinsider.com/lizard-people-conspiracy-theory-origin-nashville-bomber-qanon-2021-1

20) War on the Rocks. “The Nashville Bombing and Threats to Critical Infrastructure: We Saw This Coming.” December 31, 2020.

https://warontherocks.com/2020/12/the-nashville-bombing-and-threats-to-critical-infrastructure-we-saw-this-coming/

21) Domestic Preparedness (Kelly, Robert F. & Alexander, Dean C.). “Four Takeaways From the Nashville Christmas Bom...