On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced an investigation into the matter Terrorist attack in New Orleans Which left 15 people dead on New Year's Day, as well as the explosion that occurred outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, which left the attacker dead on the same day.
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Republican of IowaPermanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., sent letters to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and the FBI requesting more information about the background and motives of New Orleans attacker Shamseddine Jabbar.
They are also requesting more information from Meta about Jabbar's Facebook activity that led to the planned deadly attack, noting that the Texas native who was motivated by ISIS extremism posted five videos to his Facebook page hours before he drove a truck through New Year's revelers on the street. Bourbon. .
“The public deserves full transparency and truth regarding the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the car explosion in Las Vegas,” the chiefs wrote. “While we recognize that the investigation into both incidents is ongoing, we expect your agencies to be prepared to respond to Congressional oversight requests on this very serious matter.”
Shams al-Din Jabbar appeared in an undated photo released by the FBI after he was attacked on Bourbon Street in New Orleans with a pickup truck and died in a shootout with officers who responded to the attack. (FBI)
The FBI confirmed whistleblower allegations to senators' offices that FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) from the New Orleans field office was on leave during the New Year's offensive and did not return until January 2.
“These are major public events for which the SAC should be present,” the chiefs said. “The FBI failed to note this in any of its joint briefings to Congress and must provide more information.”
New Orleans Police and federal agents investigate a 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)
The presidents indicate in their letters that Jabbar served in the US Army between 2007 and 2015. “He was apparently deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010” after which he “reportedly joined the Army Reserve as an IT specialist until 2020.”
A New Orleans terrorist was radicalized by ISIS online within weeks, the FBI director says
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Additionally, Grassley and Johnson are requesting information about the background and motives of Matthew Alan Livelsperger, the man behind the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, which also occurred on January 1. Livelsberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier. Explosion of a rented Tesla Cybertruck Outside Trump Tower.
This undated photo, provided by the Las Vegas Police Department, shows a Tesla Cybertruck involved in an explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
Livelsberger, who served as a staff sergeant in the Army, was from Colorado Springs. He “enlisted as a Special Forces trainee and served on active duty from January 2006 to March 2011, then served in the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012, and in the Army Reserve from July 2012 to December 2012,” the chiefs wrote. . He returned to active duty in December 2012 with US Army Special Operations and was on leave from his duty station in Germany at the time of his death.
While the FBI said there was no connection between the two incidents that occurred on the same day, Grassley and Johnson noted that both perpetrators overlapped during their military service at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan, and both rented vehicles from a company called Toro.
What we know about the victims of the terrorist attack in New Orleans
The FBI continues to investigate the Bourbon Street attack.
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Jabbar had visited New Orleans twice before the January 1 attack – once on October 30, 2024, and again on November 10, 2024. The terrorist also visited Cairo, Egypt, and Toronto, Canada, before the attack. The FBI said.
While Jabbar appears to have acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had any accomplices.
