President-elect Donald Trump seized on a Fox News report about the deadly New Year's Day attack in New Orleans to fearmonger about "criminals" coming in from the southern border— even though the FBI confirmed that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was a Texas native who served in the U.S. military for eight years. By Wednesday afternoon, Fox retracted its report that the suspect's vehicle had crossed from Mexico into Texas two days prior to the attack, but as of Thursday morning, Trump did not pull down his Truth Social post.
At least 15 people were killed and over two dozen injured after a rented Ford pickup truck with an ISIS flag plowed through Bourbon Street. Jabbar himself was killed in the subsequent shootout with police.
"When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true," Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before. Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.”
Shortly after midnight Thursday, Trump followed up with another post inveighing against "OPEN BORDERS" and accusing Democrats and U.S. law enforcement of spending all their "waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself."
By the time Fox corrected its reporting, the misinformation fueled by Trump and re-tweeted by Vice President-elect JD Vance had already spread far and wide.
"New Orleans terrorist attacker is said to have come across the border in Eagle Pass TWO DAYS AGO!!!” wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, on X. “Shut the border down!!! Who did our government bomb lately that is taking it out on innocent Americans?”
Like Trump and Vance, Greene did not take down her post once Fox admitted its reporting was wrong. Other Republican officials wrote their posts well after the retraction, casting blame on President Joe Biden's border policy and insisting that a sealed border would have stopped the longtime Texas resident from carrying out his attack.
“I HAVE BEEN SOUNDING THE ALARM FOR YEARS,” wrote Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas. “The devastating terror attack in New Orleans has left many Americans asking a sobering question: Has the enemy already infiltrated our borders due to Joe Biden’s incompetence and his failure to secure our homeland? If not now, then when?”
The New York Times reported that Jabbar had been living in Houston, Texas, after leaving the military, where he reportedly worked in several jobs, including a six-figure position at the accounting firm Deloitte and as a real estate agent. But he struggled to adjust to civilian life, divorcing his first wife and living separately from his second as neighbors and relatives witnessed him descending further into mental instability. Jabbar, who had apparently converted to Islam long ago, became "radicalized," and acted erratically especially in recent months, “being all crazy, cutting his hair," people who knew him told reporters.
Multiple officials briefed on the investigation told CNN that Jabbar recorded himself discussing dreams that inspired him to join ISIS and plans to kill his family. Police found an ISIS flag on the truck, along with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other weapons. The suspect himself was allegedly armed with an assault rifle and handgun. Sources close to the investigation told news outlets that the Airbnb where Jabbar may have stayed was involved in a fire or detonation earlier in the day, raising concern that the suspect may have further explosives stashed away and still unrecovered.
