US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to New Orleans on Monday to mourn with relatives of the 14 people who were killed and 35 injured there when a man drove a rental van at high speed through a group of pedestrians in the early morning. of New Year’s Day.
The Bidens plan to meet with family members of victims who were crushed when the suspect, identified by authorities as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old military veteran from Houston, sped down busy Bourbon Street , a top tourist restaurant and bar venue. Police shot Jabbar after he opened fire on the officers.
Biden, two weeks into his term before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, will also meet with investigators who say Jabbar acted alone in the attack but was inspired by the Islamic State to carry out the attack. terrorist attack.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Jabbar posted five videos on social media expressing support for the Islamic State terrorist group, ISIS, about an hour and a half before the attack, as revelers in New Orleans were celebrating the first hours of 2025. An IS flag was found in the back of the truck.
On the day of the attack, Biden, speaking from the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland, offered condolences to the victims’ families in a national address. “I want you to know that I’m grieving with you,” he said.
Biden said investigators told him the suspect had a remote detonator in his truck that was intended to set off two explosive devices placed in coolers along Bourbon Street.
Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, reiterated a previously leaked U.S. claim that there are members of the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations that are in the United States “working in collaboration.” with ISIS with the intention of harming Americans.
“We don’t know where they are,” Turner said.
Outgoing Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s “This Week” that there has been a “significant increase” over the past 10 years in “homegrown violent extremism.”
“This is a very challenging threat landscape,” Mayorkas said. He promised a smooth transition to Trump’s nomination as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his new Homeland Security secretary.
“I have spoken with Governor Noem on several occasions, including on New Year’s Day and immediately afterward, about the horrific terrorist attack,” Mayorkas said.
“We have talked substantively about the steps we are taking, and I am incredibly dedicated to a smooth and successful transition for Governor Noem, if she is confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security,” Mayorkas said.
Biden’s visit Monday to New Orleans comes amid heightened security concerns in Washington, as Congress meets to certify that Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election.
It’s four years to the day after Trump supporters rampaged through the U.S. Capitol, ransacking members of Congress and attacking law enforcement officers to block the certification of Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2010 election. 2020. Trump pledged, hours after taking office on January 20, to pardon many of those arrested and imprisoned during the January 6, 2021 attack.