The Senate Judiciary Committee announced an investigation into the case on Thursday Terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people on New Year’s Day, as well as the explosion outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas that killed the perpetrator on the same day.
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowaand Permanent 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 motive of New Orleans forward Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
They are also seeking more information from Meta about Jabbar’s Facebook activity leading up to the deadly planned attack, noting that the Texas native, motivated by ISIS extremism, posted five videos to his Facebook page hours before he met a truck drove through New Year’s celebrations on Bourbon Street. .
“The public deserves full transparency and the truth about the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the car explosion in Las Vegas,” the chairmen wrote. “While we understand that the investigation into both incidents is ongoing, we expect your agencies to be helpful and responsive to congressional oversight requests on this very serious matter.”
Shamsud-Din Jabbar pictured in an undated photo released by the FBI after he attacked New Orleans’ Bourbon Street with a pickup truck and was killed in a shootout with responding officers. (FBI)
The FBI has confirmed whistleblowers’ claims to senators’ offices that the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) from the New Orleans field office was on vacation during the New Year’s attack and did not return until January 2.
“These are major public events where a SAC should be present. The FBI did not note this in any of the joint briefings it provided to Congress and must provide more information,” the chairmen said.
AMERICAN RADICALIZED BY ISIS IN ‘EXCITION’ OVER TRAVEL OVERSEAS TO SUPPORT TERRORIST GROUP: FBI
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 noted in their letters that Jabbar served in the U.S. military between 2007 and 2015. He “apparently deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010” and later “joined the Army Reserve as an information technology specialist until 2020.”
NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST WILL BE RADICALIZED ONLINE BY ISIS WITHIN WEEKS, FBI DIRECTOR SAYS
READ THE LETTER. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE:
In addition, Grassley and Johnson are seeking information about the background and motive of Matthew Alan Livelsberger, the man behind an explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, which also occurred on January 1. Livelsberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot prior to a suicide bombing. detonating a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump Tower.
BOURBON STREET TERROR VICTIMS CHOOSE NEW ORLEANS AS LOUISIANA AG INVESTIGATES SECURITY BREACHES
This undated photo provided by Las Vegas Police shows the Tesla Cybertruck involved in an explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
Livelsberger, who served as a master sergeant in the Army, was from Colorado Springs. He had “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 wrote. presidents. . He returned to active duty with US Army Special Operations in December 2012 and was on leave from his duty station in Germany at the time of his death.
Although the FBI has said there was no connection between the two incidents that occurred on the same day, Grassley and Johnson note that both perpetrators overlapped during their military service at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan, and that they both rented vehicles from a company called Turo.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF THE NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK
The FBI continues to investigate the Bourbon Street attack.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Jabbar had visited New Orleans twice prior to the January 1 attack: once on October 30, 2024, and again on November 10, 2024. The terrorist also visited Cairo, Egypt and Toronto, Canada prior to the attack. , the FBI said.
Although Jabbar apparently acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had accomplices.
