By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-18 18:56:12 | Updated at 2025-01-19 00:06:54
5 hours ago
An FBI agent who claimed the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans was 'not a terrorist event' has been reassigned, sources said.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Alethea Duncan, has been temporarily reassigned, multiple sources told Fox News.
It is unclear where she has been reassigned to, but she is still employed with the FBI, according to Fox.
Her reassignment came after she said at a press conference that Shamsud-Din Jabbar driving a truck into a crowd wasn't related to terrorism.
'This is not a terrorist event,' she said just hours after the event. 'What it is right now is improvised explosive devices that was found and we're working to confirm if it's a viable device or not.'
The mayor of New Orleans had already referred to the event as a terrorist attack earlier in the press conference when Duncan corrected the notion, only for the federal agency to reverse it.
After the press conference, the FBI, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and President Joe Biden all called the tragedy that killed 14 people a terrorist event.
The 42-year-old terrorist's truck had an ISIS flag attached to it when he drove into the crowd on Bourbon Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene after a shootout with police.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Alethea Duncan, has been temporarily reassigned, multiple sources told Fox News. It is unclear where she has been reassigned, but she is still employed with the FBI
Her reassignment came after she said a press conference that Shamsud-Din Jabbar driving a truck into a crowd wasn't related to terrorism (pictured: Jabbar's truck)
The 42-year-old terrorist's truck had an ISIS flag attached to it when he drove into the crowd on Bourbon Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene after a shootout with police
The coroner's office said all the victims died from blunt force injuries. The youngest victim was 18 years old and the oldest 63. Most victims were in their 20s.
The Texas-born US citizen and Army veteran's motive is currently unknown, but reports suggest his life had gone off the rails after he quit the Army in July 2020. The cash-strapped father and double divorcee's real estate business was floundering.
Court records show Jabbar faced a deteriorating financial situation in 2022 while separating from his then-wife. Jabbar said he was behind on house payments and had accumulated credit card debt and wanted to quickly finalize the divorce.
The FBI said Jabbar had acted alone, reversing its original position.
On the same day of his attack, Matthew Livelsberger - who was at the same military base as Jabbar - caused a Cybertruck to explode outside of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, sparking rumors the two attacks were connected.
Livelsberger, 37, was identified by law enforcement sources as the bomber in the attack, which left seven wounded.
The blast was caused by 'a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck' or 'very large fireworks', according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The $80,000 car was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the hotel, killing one and injuring seven at around 9am, according to Las Vegas police.
