A less heroic--but probably more effective--response might have involved investigating Anthony "Tony" Warner before he set off his huge bomb. Red State has an article this morning, citing seemingly reliable public sources, in which the claim is made that the state and local police had been warned a year ago that Warner was building bombs in his RV:
Nashville Bomber’s Girlfriend Warned Police He Was Making Bombs Last Year
Despite the F.B.I.’s claims to the contrary, law enforcement was warned about Anthony Q. Warner’s disturbing activities more than a year before he set off a bomb in downtown Nashville. The new information might shed light on the alleged bomber’s motive.
The Tennessean reported that “sixteen months before Anthony Quinn Warner’s RV exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, officers visited his home in Antioch after his girlfriend reported that he was making bombs in the vehicle.”
Shortly after the bombing, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation stated that Warner was “not on our radar” before the attack. However, a Metro Nashville Police Department report from August of last year shows that “local and federal authorities were aware of alleged threats he had made,” according to The Tennessean.
It does not appear that law enforcement took any action against Warner despite the warning. On Aug. 21, 2019, his girlfriend told Nashville police that he “was building bombs in the RV trailer at his residence.” The officer then sent the information to the F.B.I.
Weird, isn't it? One wonders what local, state, and federal LE officials were so busy with that they had no time to do a bit of digging into complaints of a tech savvy guy building bombs.
In fairness to the FBI, they did take action when the information was relayed to them:
