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President-elect Donald Trump’s allies are vituperating to the FBI for its initial characterization of the brutal car attack in New Orleans as unrelated to terrorism, before the country’s top federal law enforcement agency reversed course and launched a terrorism investigation allegedly linked to ISIS.
“The FBI has a no-fail mission. There is no margin for error. When they fail, Americans die. Kash Patel needs to be confirmed as soon as possible,” a source close to Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning.
Early Wednesday morning, chaos erupted on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as New Year’s Eve revelers partied in the streets. The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is accused of ramming a truck into crowds on the beloved party street, killing at least 15 and injuring dozens more. Jabbar, who was armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle, later died opening fire on the police.
As details leaked to the public Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials, including the FBI, held a news conference in which a special agent initially told the public that the attack was not related to terrorism.
From left, Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, Kash Patel and President-elect Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
“We will take the lead on the investigation of this event. This is not a terrorist event,” FBI New Orleans Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said during the news conference.
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The mayor of New Orleans contradicted Duncan at the same press conference, stating that the attack was related to terrorism.
“Know that the city of new orleans was hit by a terrorist attack. Everything is still under investigation. You’ll hear more after me,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat who has held the office since 2018, said at the news conference.
The FBI issued statements later Wednesday. highlighting that the attack was now under investigation as an act of terrorism, including reports that an ISIS flag was found on the truck that plowed into the crowd.
New Orleans Police Department Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick makes a statement after a vehicle plowed into a crowd at the New Orleans Canal and Bourbon Street on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“An ISIS flag was located on the vehicle and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s possible associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” an FBI statement said.
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“The FBI is the lead investigative agency and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively investigating all leads to identify possible associates of the subject,” the statement added.
Conservative lawmakers condemned the attack and mourned the victims, while directing their anger at the FBI for its alleged failures in handling the attack. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a key ally in the Senate Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, sharply criticized the FBI in a series of messages posted on X and again garnered support for Patel’s confirmation as FBI director.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least 10 people were killed when a person allegedly drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day on January 1, 2025 in New Orleans. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)
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“The tragic terrorist attack that killed innocent people in New Orleans is a stark reminder of the importance of strong leadership. America needs a fearless fighter like @Kash_Patel in the FBI.” Blackburn posted Wednesday.
Blackburn also took issue with the FBI for allegedly showing up at the suspect’s Texas home after the media had already staked out the property.
“The FBI did not show up at the suspect’s NOLA address until 1:00 pm today. We were on the scene earlier. No one left the house or opened the door,” New York Post reporter. Jennie Taer posted on X on Wednesday.
Blackburn responded to the Post reporter by saying that the FBI had “failed” in its mission as the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.
“The fact that a journalist has better information than the FBI tells us everything we need to know. The FBI has failed in its primary mission,” Blackburn posted.
When asked to comment on the criticism, the FBI directed Fox Digital to its three previous statements about the attack that described it as an act of terrorism, but did not comment that the New Orleans agent said Wednesday that the attack was unrelated. with terrorism.
“This morning, an individual drove a car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing several people and injuring dozens more. The subject later compromised with local authorities and is now deceased. The FBI is leading investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism,” the FBI said in one of its three statements provided to Fox Digital.
A photograph released by the FBI of Shamsud-Din Jabbar. (FBI)
Jabbar was identified as a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas. He was an Army veteran who served as a human resources and information technology specialist from March 2007 to January 2015, and was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
Trump sharply criticized President Biden and his administration’s policies over the attack.
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“With Biden’s ‘Open Border Policy’ I said, many times during rallies and elsewhere, that radical Islamic terrorism and other forms of violent crime will become so serious in the United States that it will be difficult to even imagine or believe. “The time has come, only worse than I ever imagined. Joe Biden is the WORST PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY, A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (Chris Granger/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Biden lamented Wednesday’s attack and stressed that despite the violence, “our New Orleans will never, ever, ever be defeated.”
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“New Orleans is a place unlike any other place in the world,” the president said. “It is a city full of charm and joy. Many people around the world love New Orleans for its history, its culture and, above all, its people.”
“So I know that even though this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, ever, ever be defeated,” he added.
