Allies of President-elect Donald Trump are expressing harsh criticism The FBI initially described the brutal car attack in New Orleans as unrelated to terrorism, before the nation's top federal law enforcement agency backed down and launched a terrorism investigation allegedly linked to ISIS.
A source close to Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning: “The FBI has a mission that can't fail. There is no room for error. When they fail, Americans die. It is imperative that Kash Patel's appointment be confirmed as quickly as possible.”
Early Wednesday morning, chaos erupted on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as New Year's Eve revelers celebrated in the streets. The suspect, later identified as Shams al-Din Jabbar, is accused of plowing a truck into crowds on the popular and popular party street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others. Jabbar, armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle, was subsequently killed Police shooting.
As details leaked to the public on Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials, including the FBI, held a news conference where a special agent initially told the public that the attack was not related to terrorism.
From left to right, Tennessee State Senators Marsha Blackburn, Kash Patel, and President-elect Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
“We will lead the investigation into this event. This is not a terrorist event,” FBI New Orleans Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said during the news conference.
What we know about the victims of the terrorist attack in New Orleans
New Orleans Mayor Duncan disagreed at the same press conference, declaring the attack linked to terrorism.
“I know that City of New Orleans Affected 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 released statements later on Wednesday Explaining that the attack is now under investigation as an act of terrorism, including reporting that an ISIS flag was found on the truck that hit the crowds.
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick made a statement after a car struck a crowd of people at the New Orleans Canal and Bourbon Streets on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the person’s possible connections and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” an FBI statement said.
The statement added: “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 pursuing all leads to identify any potential accomplices in this matter.”
Conservative lawmakers denounced the attack and expressed grief for the victims, while also directing their anger at the FBI for its alleged failure to handle the attack. Senator Marsha Blackburn, A key ally in the Senate Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Cash Patel, criticized the FBI in a series of letters sent to X and again rallied support for Patel's confirmation to serve as FBI director.
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least 10 people were killed when someone 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)
Officials postpone sugar bowl in wake of apparent terrorist attack on Bourbon Street
“The tragic terrorist attack that claimed innocent lives in New Orleans is a stark reminder of the importance of strong leadership. America needs a brave fighter like @Kash_Patel at the FBI.” Blackburn posted on Wednesday.
Blackburn also took issue with the FBI for allegedly tipping her off to the suspect's Texas home after the media had already staked out the property.
“The FBI did not show up to the suspect's NOLA address until 1 p.m. today. We had been at the scene before. No one came out of the house or opened the door,” New York Post reporter Jenny Tire posted on X on Wednesday.
Blackburn responded to a Washington Post reporter, saying the FBI had “failed” in its mission as the nation's top law enforcement agency.
“The fact that one reporter has better information than the FBI tells us everything we need to know,” Blackburn wrote. “The FBI has failed in its basic mission.”
When contacted for comment on the criticism, the FBI directed Fox Digital to its three previous statements about the attack calling it an act of terrorism, but did not comment on the New Orleans agent saying Wednesday that the attack was not terrorism-related.
“This morning, a subject drove his car into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing several people and injuring dozens of others. The subject was then dealt with by local law enforcement and is now deceased. The FBI is leading One of his three statements provided to Fox Digital: “We are working with an investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”
A photo released by the FBI of Shams al-Din Jabbar. (FBI)
Jabbar has been identified as a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas. He was an Army veteran and served as a human resources and information technology specialist from March 2007 until January 2015, and was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.
Trump criticized President Biden and his administration's policies regarding the attack.
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“With Biden's open borders policy, I have said, many times during rallies and elsewhere, that radical Islamic terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become difficult to even imagine or believe. The time has come “It is worse than could ever be imagined. Joe Biden is the worst president in the history of America, a complete and total disaster.”
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 mourned the attack that occurred on Wednesday, stressing that despite the violence, “New Orleans will never, never, ever be defeated.”
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“New Orleans is a place unlike any other place in the world,” the president said. “It's a city full of charm and joy. So many people around the world love New Orleans for its history, its culture and, above all, its people.”
“So I know that while this person committed a horrific attack on the city, our spirit of New Orleans will never, ever be defeated,” he added.
