Homeland Security Committee: ‘Security lapses’ have encouraged terrorists.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Greene R-Ten said on Wednesday that the national security blunders of the past four years have “emboldened foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and domestic violent extremism”.
The committee released its updated Terrorist Threat Assessment on Wednesday morning, highlighting threats posed by homegrown extremists in the U.S. and around the world from foreign jihadist networks like ISIS.
“Encouraged by the national security blunders of the past four years, foreign terrorist organizations and jihadist networks abroad are determined to recruit and target individuals on American soil.
The updated report comes less than a month after Texas native and U.S. military veteran Shamsud-Deen Jabbar killed 14 civilians on Jan. 1 when he was driving a pickup truck on Bourbon Street around 3 a.m., according to federal officials. A terrorist attack inspired by ISIS.
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Read the updated screenshot:
“The terrorist attack in New Orleans was a reminder that the terrorist threat to America is alive and well,” Green said. “The House Homeland Security Committee highlighted this fact in October, and unfortunately, Americans have seen a major escalation in these threats over the past three months. They saw it.”
The report lists more than 50 jihadist incidents in 30 states between April 2021 and January 2025, including “dozens of attempts to provide material support to ISIS,” “providing material support to Hezbollah and al-Qaeda,” and “receiving military-type training from ISIS.” and Hizballah” and “Vehicle Jamming Attacks.”
The New Orleans terrorist was hacked online by ISIS within weeks, the FBI director said.
Authorities on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on the New Orleans Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In the year From the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan to the New Orleans attack, the report lists every shocking terrorist attack and arrest since former President Biden took office four years ago.
After four years of failed leadership, there is no doubt that our national security is in jeopardy.
August Pfluger, chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, said Wednesday: “Americans have become targets of terror on public holidays, and ISIS and al-Qaeda are emboldened in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.”
The FBI has released surveillance photos showing Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove off on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. (FBI via AP)
“There’s a lot of work to do to fix the road and strengthen the nation’s security. That work starts now.”
The committee also pointed out that vehicle attacks like the one in New Orleans are a growing threat.
Several victims of the New Orleans attack have sued the city for negligence, citing several instances where the threat of a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street was mentioned in official city planning documents.
Bourbon Street terror victims sue New Orleans as Louisiana Ag investigates safety lapses.
Investigators gather after a man drove a vehicle into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A lawsuit filed by Morris Bart LLC on behalf of seven victims alleges that the defendants “have had years of opportunity to resolve this known problem” and “(c) the company’s contractors failed to fulfill their contractual obligations and failed to perform the work in the manner specified in the order.”
“A scenario presented by (contractor) Mott MacDonald was that eight months prior to this tragedy, a Ford F-150 was specifically turning from Boy Street onto Bourbon Street. This alarmingly similar threat appears to have been predicted prior to December 31st.”
What we know about the victims of the terrorist attack in New Orleans
Police investigate a crime on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, January 1, 2025. A driver drove into a gathering of New Year’s revelers and began firing a weapon in the early hours of the morning. (Kath Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
In the year Official recommendations for New Orleans’ security measures in the French Quarter, part of a $2.3 billion infrastructure project that began in 2017, say the FBI is at risk in the popular tourist area.
The city began planning modern security measures, including bollards to block vehicles from entering busy streets around the French Quarter.
Body language experts say the New Orleans attacker showed ‘red flags’ before the attack.
“The French Quarter is often crowded with pedestrians and represents an area where mass accidents can occur.” 2017 report says. “This area presents a high risk of terrorism and a target area for violence, which the FBI has identified as an area of concern for the city.”
“Following the deadly attacks in Nice, France, England, London, and most recently in NYC’s Times Square, it has become clear how popular tourist spots can be threatened by vehicular and armed assailants.”
In the year In 2015, a masked Islamic State terrorist appeared with an ISIS flag. (Photos from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A separate, confidential 2019 report obtained by Fox News from security consultancy Interfor International warned that Bourbon Street was a “very high-profile target” for terrorist attacks in New Orleans. “The current bollard system does not appear to be functional on Bourbon Street,” states a 60-page safety assessment conducted by the French Quarter Management District.
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The FBI continues to investigate the attack, which Jabbar said was motivated by ISIS extremism.
Federal officials announced last week that Jabbar had previously visited New Orleans on two occasions — once on Oct. 30, 2024, and again on Nov. 10, 2024. The attacker visited Cairo, Egypt and Toronto, Canada before the attack. The FBI said.
Although Jabbar acted alone, authorities are still investigating whether he had any accomplices.