GOP Sen. Kennedy Suspicious Of FBI’s Information Following New Orleans Attack
Republican Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana has expressed distrust in the FBI's handling of the recent terrorist attack in New Orleans, which claimed the lives of 15 innocent individuals.
On Wednesday, the senator pledged to continue demanding more information about the attack and the suspect involved.
Authorities reported that 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar drove a Ford pickup truck into a group of New Year’s Eve revelers on Wednesday morning. After exiting the vehicle, he opened fire on the crowd before being fatally shot in a confrontation with police.
“There’s a fine line between anger and grief, and I’m pretty much straddling that line right now. If you don’t believe in objective evil, all you need to do is go walk about 30 or 40 yards that way, we’ve still got bodies on the ground. That’s one of the reasons we postponed the game,” Senator Kennedy stated during an appearance on Fox News' "Special Report."
He continued, “I’m here for two reasons: One, these are my people, these are my people’s guests. Number two, I don’t want to hear from anybody in the federal government that they don’t have the resources.”
With the investigation now led by federal agencies, including the White House, FBI, Justice Department, and Homeland Security, Kennedy called for decisive action. “I want to give them a reasonable period of time. There is a lot of information out there, some of it is actually true. But they need to saddle up and ride. We need to find out what happened here.”
Kennedy voiced concerns about possible omissions by the FBI. “You just never know what they’re not telling us,” he remarked. “But I know how to probe very hard to get the information. I’m not interested in placing blame or saying who was right or wrong. I just want to catch these sons of bitches who did this.”
Referring to past security failures, Kennedy said, “I sat there and watched a 21-year-old kid outsmart the entire Secret Service of the United States and almost kill a former president, who is soon-to-be current president, and we still don’t have information, and that’s not going to happen this time.”
President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday evening, calling the attack in New Orleans a likely act of terrorism.
“The FBI identified the attacker, Din Jabbar, as an American citizen from Texas and a U.S. Army veteran who appears to have been radicalized by Muslim extremism,” according to reports.
Biden began his address with a message of unity and condolence: “For all Americans, when I say our hearts are with the people of New Orleans after the despicable attack that occurred in the early morning hours. To all the families of those who were killed, to all those who were injured, to all the people of New Orleans who are grieving today, I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you.”
He expressed gratitude to first responders and law enforcement for stopping the attacker before more lives were lost. “I want to thank you to everyone at the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, including the FBI, for working nonstop to investigate this heinous act,” Biden said.
Initially, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and state authorities labeled the incident an act of terrorism, although FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Alethea Duncan initially withheld confirmation. The agency has since stated it is treating the attack as terrorism.
Biden provided further details, noting, “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, expressing a desire to kill, a desire to kill. The ISIS flag was found in his vehicle, which he rented to conduct this attack. Possible explosives were found in the vehicle as well, and more explosives were found nearby. The situation is very fluid, and the investigation has a preliminary stage.”
He cautioned against premature conclusions. “And the fact is that right now — excuse me, there you go — the law enforcement and intelligence community are continuing to look for any connections, associations, or co-conspirators. We have nothing additional to report at this time. The investigation is continuing to be active, and no one should jump to conclusions,” Biden stated.