How did a Texas-born Army veteran become a radicalized ISIS supporter who killed at least 14 people and injured dozens more in New Orleans? Glenn reviews the latest on the Bourbon Street massacre on New Year’s Day: What happened during the killer’s recent trip to Egypt? Should the FBI have had enough information to apprehend him earlier? Was this truly a “lone wolf” attack or is it part of a growing pattern that has plagued Europe for years? How many radical Islamists like him have crossed the border illegally over the past few years? This was more than just a tragedy, Glenn says. It should serve as a warning for our government: we have major cracks in our system that are widening.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: On New Year's Eve, we were all gathered together, ringing in 2025, joy and celebration.
But if you were in New Orleans, a nightmare was unfolding.
14 people were killed. Thirty-five were injured. And America was reminded of an uncomfortable truth. Terrorism knows no borders.
The perpetrator, was not a stranger from foreign land. But a Texas-born army veteran, radicalized and driven by hate.
Now, I want to talk about this, because I think perspective is so important. Do you know these stories. Hopefully, maybe not.
But you know these stories, but I want to give you the important perspective. And the theme of today's show really is truth above all things.
Ask the uncomfortable questions.
Now, we have to retrace his steps a bit. It's not a story about this guy, that, you know, going into radicalism.
It's how we as a nation have allowed our vulnerabilities to grow unchecked.
And if we don't change right now, more tragedies are going to follow.
So most of this guy's life, unremarkable. Born and raised in Houston, Texas.
Joined the army in 2007.
He served as a human resource specialist. Later as an IT specialist.
He was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 and 2010. It was administrative. He was far from the battlefield. But his access gave him, you know, a look into the military world, and perhaps a view of America's enemies, that would later feed his radicalization.
By 2023, he was no longer a friend to his family and his friends.
He traveled to Egypt, at some point that year. He joined ISIS. He -- there's a chilling video of him. A message to his family.
Where he pledged allegiance to the terror group. And expressed his desire to kill his family.
He ultimately chose not to harm his loved ones. But he was consumed by hatred and this ideology.
This so the first lesson here is, it doesn't happen overnight. Second lesson is, how did this guy get back into the country?
This is a slow burn, but it's often in plain sight. Vigilance is what we need.
Not just from law enforcement, but from family, friends, and community.
Because if we can understand how people like Jabbar can fall into darkness. We may be able to stop the next tragedy before it begins.
So in October of 2024, just last October. He visited New Orleans. He was scouting.
He used meta smart glasses, cutting-edge technology, designed for everyday convenience.
He used those to map out the French Quarter and be plan his attack with meticulous precision.
Side note, just an asterisk here.
I want you to remember for what I'm going to talk to you about next hour. This is technology meant to improve our lives, turned into a tool of terror. All right.
Fast forward. New Year's Eve. He rents a house in New Orleans. Packs his truck with an ISIS flag, drives into the heart of the city.
He had two ways of destruction. He first will mow over people. And then he was going to set off an explosive device, extraordinarily rare explosive compound. One that's never been used in the US or in Europe. We don't know where he got it. How did it get here?
We don't even know what it is. The government does. The bombs were hidden in coolers. And rigged with a transmitter, that were placed on Bourbon Street.
Thankfully, they didn't detonate. Either he didn't trigger the bomb. Or police killed him, before he could.
Around 3:00 a.m. He carried out his primary attack.
He was driving a rented Ford F-150. Plowed through the crowd.
Leaving death and chaos in his wake. Fourteen lives were lost. Thirty-five others, forever changed.
And we had another terrorist attack, the first of 2025. Now, the FBI said, this isn't a terrorist attack. The lady with the nose ring, go away.
You have no credibility. This so-called lone wolf is part of a growing pattern. German Christmas, market attack. The London bridge stabbings.
It's now here on American soil. But let's not ignore the bigger picture.
While he may -- may have acted alone, in execution, everything leading up to it, was not an isolated process.
His story also raises uncomfortable questions about our preparedness for terrorism in 2025.
How did a Texas-born army veteran become radicalized under the noses of everybody in his community?
How did he acquire the knowledge to build a sophisticated bomb?
How many more are like him? How many are homegrown? How many have we imported over our border?
So let's start with the border security. Something that we must demand is taken seriously by Congress.
Critics of current immigration policies argue that porous borders could allow terrorists to slip into the country undetected.
Right. But he was a citizen. Terror groups do not care about borders. And neither should we, when it comes to national security.
We need a system that welcomes people who seek a better life, while stopping, jailing, or killing, if we have to, the ones who want to exploit our goodwill, and blow us up.
There's another question: Technology. The smart glasses from Meta.
He used those to plan his attack, but he also used social media to pledge his allegiance to ISIS.
So how do we balance this innovation with security?
The reason why I wanted to bring this up today, is it's more than just a tragic event.
It's a warning. It reveals the cracks in our systems. The complacency that allows those cracks to widen.
Our borders. Our political correctness.
This story is important, because it forces us to confront the uncomfortable truths about our safety, our priorities, and our policies.
You might think, oh, well, it's New Orleans. It's not my town.
The reality is, terror doesn't discriminate. It could happen anywhere. A Christmas parade in Wisconsin. A concert in Las Vegas. A marathon in Boston.
The first thing our Congress and our new president must address is the corruption that has happened in our Department of Justice.
How could this FBI agent, with the nose ring, come out and say, immediately, this wasn't a terrorist attack.
The guy had an ISIS flag in his truck. How could that happen?
It's a new kind of policing.
She's obviously, a part of this new DEI bullcrap. That has been passed on. All of the political correctness now down to that level.
The special agent in charge, in New Orleans.
That has to be stopped. We have to stop being politically incorrect in saying that, you know, oh, Islam is fine. No. No. Islamists are not fine.
And you will find Islamists in many of the groups of Islam.
It doesn't make Islam the problem.
It makes people who say, I take the Koran, word-for-word, and it needs to be law, in every country.
No!
Those are the ones causing the problems.
No. We cannot allow our country to become like Europe.
Europe, gang, it's a matter of time.
If they don't change course, radically, in this year. You will not recognize Europe anymore.
This year has to be a year of total and complete change. And right on cue, total and complete change is coming.
