On Thursday, the Judiciary Committee of the Senate announced the investigation of Terrorist attack in New Orleans in which 15 people died on New Year’s Day, as well as in the explosion in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, in which the perpetrator died 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 seeking more information about the background and motive of New Orleans shooter Shamsud-Din Jabbar.
They are also seeking more information from Meta about Jabbar’s Facebook activity that led to the deadly, planned attack, noting that the Texas native motivated by ISIS extremism posted five videos on his Facebook page hours before he drove his truck through New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street .
“The public deserves full transparency and the truth regarding the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the car bombing in Las Vegas,” the presidents wrote. “While we understand that the investigation into both of these incidents is ongoing, we expect your agencies to be ready and responsive to Congressional requests for oversight of this very serious matter.”
Shamsud-Din Jabbar shown in an undated photo released by the FBI after he drove his pickup truck down Bourbon Street in New Orleans and died in a shootout with responding officers. (FBI)
The FBI confirmed the whistleblower’s claims to the senator’s office that he The FBI’s top agent (SAC) from the New Orleans field office was on leave during the New Year’s attack and did not return until January 2nd.
“These are major public events where SAC should be present. The FBI failed to note this in any of the joint briefings it gave to Congress and must provide more information,” the presidents said.
New Orleans police and federal agents are investigating 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 said in their letters that Jabbar served in the U.S. military between 2007 and 2015. He “allegedly deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010” and later “allegedly joined the Army Reserve as an information technology specialist until 2020.”
ISIS RADICALIZED NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ONLINE WITHIN WEEKS, FBI DIRECTOR SAYS
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In addition, Grassley and Johnson are seeking information on the background and motive of Matthew Alan Livelsberger, the man behind the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, which also occurred on January 1. Livelsberger died of a gunshot wound earlier detonating a rented Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump Tower.
BOURBON STREET TERROR VICTIMS SUING NEW ORLEANS AS LOUISIANA AG INVESTIGATES SECURITY BREAKS
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 via AP)
Livelsberger, who served as an Army sergeant, 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 Reserves from July 2012 to December 2012 “, the presidents wrote. He re-entered active duty in December 2012 with US Army Special Operations and was on leave from his post in Germany at the time of his death.
While the FBI has said there is no connection between the two incidents that happened 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 the company Turo.
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 visited New Orleans on two occasions before the Jan. 1 attack — once on Oct. 30, 2024, and the second time on Nov. 10, 2024. The terrorist also visited Cairo, Egypt, and Toronto, Canada, before the attack, the FBI said.
Although Jabbar apparently acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had accomplices.
