Lawmakers question the FBI's preparedness and response to New Orleans attack that killed 14 people
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Congressional lawmakers demanded answers Wednesday about the FBI's response to the Jan. 1 truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people, questioning why the bureau's top official in the city was out of town and raising concerns about its initial, erroneous assertion that the rampage was “not a terrorist event.”.
In a series of letters, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, also suggested Facebook missed red flags and asked the social media company to provide a timeline of when it became aware of threatening videos Shamsud-Din Jabbar posted before he plowed a pickup truck through a crowd of New Year's revelers.
Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas native and U.S. Army veteran, professed his allegiance to the Islamic State group and an intent to harm others in a series of posts between 1:29 a.m. and 3:02 a.m., according to federal authorities. The Bourbon Street attack began at 3:15 a.m.
Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Police fatally shot Jabbar during an exchange of gunfire at the scene of the deadly crash of the rented pickup truck on Bourbon Street, famous worldwide for its festive vibes in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter. Federal investigators so far believe Jabbar acted alone, but are continuing to explore his contacts.
The additional scrutiny from Congress comes amid multiple investigations launched by the city and state into security lapses and law enforcement response. Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, and Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, said Congress intends to conduct “objective and independent oversight” into the attack.
