Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s New Year’s bloodbath in New Orleans, carried out with a pickup truck flying an ISIS flag, may embolden the terrorist group to radicalize extra Americans, consultants instructed Fox News Digital.
Jabbar’s youthful brother told the New York Times that he and his Army veteran brother have been raised Christian in Beaumont, Texas earlier than the now-deceased attacker transformed to Islam as an grownup.
“What he did doesn’t signify Islam,” the youthful brother mentioned. “This is extra some sort of radicalization, not faith.”
NEW ORLEANS TRUCK ATTACK SUSPECT INSPIRED BY ISLAMIC STATE TERRORIST GROUP
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a suspect within the New Orleans assault, is seen on this image obtained from social media, launched in November 2013, in Fort Johnson (previously Fort Polk), Louisiana, U.S. (1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division by way of Facebook by way of REUTERS)
He added that Jabbar didn’t know what he wished to do in life, and started his navy profession “to get some form of self-discipline.”
While he was driving from his residence in Texas to Louisiana on Tuesday, legislation enforcement sources mentioned Jabbar posted movies to his Facebook account pledging his allegiance to ISIS.
Retired FBI brokers Scott Duffey and Chris Swecker instructed Fox News Digital that Wednesday’s assault may embolden ISIS, different terrorist teams or people who’ve been radicalized.
NEW ORLEANS TERROR SUSPECT’S BROTHER SAYS ATTACK IS SIGN OF ‘RADICALIZATION’: REPORT
ATF brokers examine the rental residence utilized by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024. Multiple individuals are useless and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his automobile into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
“This is a time the place ISIS is below excessive stress and their existence is being threatened in Syria and elsewhere. It would make sense for them to double down on their message to radicalize Americans to place them into motion and activate any cells that they’ve in place,” Swecker mentioned.
Before his rampage in New Orleans, Jabbar posted a number of movies on Facebook declaring his assist for ISIS, the FBI mentioned at a information convention on Thursday.
“In the primary video, Jabbar explains he solely deliberate to hurt his household and buddies, however was involved the information headlines wouldn’t deal with the ‘conflict between the believers and the disbelievers,'” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia mentioned.
ISIS and different terrorist organizations typically use social media to recruit new members, consultants mentioned.
“ISIS and different international adversaries use all types of social media platforms to unfold anti-American ideologies, rhetoric and propaganda,” Duffey mentioned. “It’s free speech, and designed to slowly convert younger individuals to start out questioning their American and non secular beliefs.”
“It begins off comfortable messaging to draw individuals into their thought course of,” he continued. “Links are sometimes supplied that lead individuals to extra messages… sowing division and mistrust of presidency in younger impressionable minds.
“I feel there may be typically an underlying psychological subject within the reader that draws them to the message, which over time results in… extra encrypted messages of violence.”
“It’s a win for them if somebody does one thing like what he did yesterday,” he continued.
NEW ORLEANS ATTACK: INVESTIGATION CONTINUES, AS FBI SAYS NO OTHER SUSPECTS INVOLVED
Investigators search the rental residence utilized by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024. Multiple individuals are useless and dozens are injured after Jabbar rammed his automobile into crowds of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
Most people who find themselves radicalized are completed so by on-line supplies, mentioned John Ryan, who served as chief of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
“Him being an IT individual, it might imply he most likely is aware of the best way to entry the darkish net the place much more materials is accessible,” he mentioned about Jabbar’s background in info expertise.
“In regards as to if it may set off different individuals, sadly there are loads of keyboard warriors who’re being uncovered to this and looking for one thing to hook up with. Given the excessive stage of psychological well being points within the aftermath of COVID and the variety of protests in assist of Hamas and pro-Palestine and anti-Israel, the reply is sure. Mostly lone wolf sort of individuals.”
Although legislation enforcement officers have been initially looking for accomplices within the assault, the FBI mentioned on Thursday that it seems Jabbar acted alone. However, Swecker mentioned, that doesn’t low cost the opportunity of an lively terror cell inside the nation.
“If his radicalization was on account of the propaganda and calls to motion from ISIS on the web, that is [still] worldwide terrorism. We’re calling him homegrown, however it’s directed from a terrorist group,” Swecker mentioned.
“Even if he doesn’t carry a card, even when he isn’t on the cellphone with the ISIS director however he’s being known as to motion by propaganda on their web sites, it’s nonetheless worldwide terrorism,” he mentioned. “That’s very a lot part of the playbook for Al-Qaeda and these worldwide teams.”
Jabbar was stationed at Fort Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty, in North Carolina, as was active-duty U.S. Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, who police mentioned deliberately created and died in an explosion that injured seven outdoors Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
Investigators have uncovered no proof of a connection between the Bourbon Street terror assault in New Orleans and Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, regardless of the suspects’ shared navy historical past.
The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that blew up outdoors Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been recognized as active-duty U.S. Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, pictured proper. Livelsberger’s assault passed off inside hours of Jabbar’s in New Orleans. (Fox News)
“If they served on the identical base, I feel I’m nonetheless very open and there’s a definite chance that they linked up on the web or with their prior navy associations,” Swecker mentioned. “If [Livelsberger] was a convert, he would have been going to the identical [religious] companies as [Jabbar].”
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“What [Jabbar] did and what occurred in Las Vegas does give credibility to the motion and creates that pleasure in others who could also be interested by it [carrying] on their plan in a brief timeframe,” Duffey mentioned.
