President-elect Donald Trump said the deadly New Orleans attack was a good reason to crack down on immigration even though the attacker, identified by authorities as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was born and raised in the United States and served in the U.S. Army.
Building on an earlier Truth Social rant shortly after the terrorist attack in which Trump called the U.S. a laughing stock and blamed the "open borders" of the Biden administration, he let loose again on Thursday, referring to "the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself."
Trump used the New Orleans attack that killed at least 14 people and injured dozens more to bash the FBI, the Department of Justice and other agencies. He called on the CIA to get involved even though the agency deals with foreign rather than domestic issues.
"The USA is breaking down – A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it," Trump wrote.
President Joe Biden, who called the attack "despicable," expressed sympathy for the victims' families and the city of New Orleans.
"The situation is very fluid," said Biden, according to the Washington Post. "The investigation is continuing to be active, and no one should jump to conclusions." Biden acknowledged that the perpetrator was an American citizen born in Texas who served in the U.S. Army and was likely influenced by the Islamic State.
"The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that [he] was inspired by ISIS," Biden said.
A top FBI official detailed the series of videos posted by the Bourbon Street attacker in which he claimed to have joined ISIS, reported nola.com.
“In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the quote, ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers,’ end quote,” Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, reportedly said at a press conference.
Raia also said the FBI believes that Jabbar acted alone and that, at this point, no links have been uncovered between the New Orleans attack and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.
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