After the deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, President-elect Donald Trump spread misinformation, using a Fox News report to falsely claim that immigrants were responsible for the attack. However, the FBI confirmed that the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was a U.S. citizen from Texas, and not someone who had crossed the border illegally. Fox News later retracted its report, which originally stated that Jabbar’s vehicle had crossed the border from Mexico just before the attack.
The attack occurred when Jabbar, a former U.S. Army soldier, drove a rented Ford pickup truck through Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. He was shot and killed by police after a gunfight.
Despite the retraction, Trump did not remove his post on Truth Social, where he claimed that criminals from other countries were a greater threat than those born in the U.S., further fueling false narratives about immigrants. He also criticized Democrats and law enforcement for not focusing on the threat posed by violent individuals like Jabbar. Other Republican figures, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, shared the incorrect information and continued to blame the Biden administration’s border policies, even after the facts were corrected.
Jabbar, who had served in the U.S. military for eight years, had been living in Houston before the attack. He struggled with adjusting to civilian life, going through a divorce and reportedly becoming increasingly mentally unstable. It was later revealed that he had become radicalized, joining ISIS and planning the attack. Authorities discovered an ISIS flag and explosives in his truck. Jabbar had also recorded disturbing videos discussing his motivations and intentions before the attack.
This tragic incident has raised concerns about mental health issues and the impact of radicalization, while also being misused for political purposes by some leaders who pushed unfounded claims about immigration.
