🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Richard Grenell, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump who is set to serve in a key diplomatic role soon, pushed back against a social media post by Republican Florida state Senator Randy Fine that called Islam a "fundamentally broken and dangerous culture," following an ISIS-inspired attack in New Orleans.
Why It Matters
In December, Trump named Grenell as presidential envoy for special missions, a role focused on managing foreign policy with an emphasis on Venezuela and North Korea.
Trump, during his first term issued an executive order barring entry to the United States for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries, a move many labeled a "Muslim ban." The ban included people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The executive order also suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's communications team for comment via email on Thursday.
What To Know
Early Wednesday morning, around 3:15 a.m. local time, an individual identified by the FBI as Shamsud-Din Jabbar intentionally drove a pick-up truck into a crowd in New Orleans and then began shooting, killing 15 people and injuring about 30.
"Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital," the FBI said in a Wednesday statement.
The FBI is investigating the New Year's incident on Bourbon Street as an act of terrorism. Jabbar, 42, was a U.S. citizen from Texas who previously served in the U.S. Army. In a Thursday press conference the FBI said they believe Jabbar acted alone. They have recovered three phones and two laptops affiliated with Jabbar and are in the process of analyzing them.
In a press conference yesterday, President Joe Biden said Jabbar posted videos online linked to the terrorist organization ISIS. The FBI reported finding an ISIS flag in the vehicle. The FBI is working to determine the suspect's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
Weapons and a potential improvised explosive device (IED) were also found in the vehicle, according to the FBI. Two IEDs were found in the French Quarter early Wednesday morning. The FBI confirmed that video footage shows Jabbar placing the IEDs.
On January 1, Florida State Senator Randy Fine posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Muslim terror has attacked the United States — again. The blood is on the hands of those who refuse to acknowledge the worldwide #MuslimProblem. It is high time to deal with this fundamentally broken and dangerous culture."
His post received over 30,000 likes and was shared over 5,600 times, as of Thursday morning.
Grenell pushed back on Fine's comments, writing: "They are Radicals. The Radicals must be defeated. Muslims call them Radicals, too. You aren't helping. There's this thing called the First Amendment which guarantees religious freedoms."
They are Radicals.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) January 1, 2025
The Radicals must be defeated.
Muslims call them Radicals, too.
You aren't helping.
There's this thing called the First Amendment which guarantees religious freedoms. https://t.co/4BgIEiGkVS
Among other freedoms, the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution specifies that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric have been prevalent in the U.S. in recent years. ISIS, also known as Daesh, is an Islamic, radical, extremist group that does not reflect the practices and beliefs of most Muslims.
Grenell previously served in Trump's first administration in several roles, including U.S. ambassador to Germany, special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations and acting director of national intelligence. Prior to Trump's administration, Grenell served as U.S. spokesperson at the United Nations under President George W. Bush.
What People Are Saying
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., wrote in a statement on January 2: "We join the New Orleans Muslim community in extending our condolences to the families of those killed in the horrific, senseless and infuriating Bourbon Street attack. May God comfort the families of the victims, heal the injured and protect humanity from those who dare to commit such cowardly acts of mass violence. If reports that the perpetrator was a man with a history of drunk driving and spousal abuse who plotted to kill his family before supposedly experiencing dreams telling him to join Daesh are true, then his crime is the latest example of why cruel, merciless, bottom-feeding extremist groups have been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the Muslim world – from Islamic scholars, to mosques, to organizations, and to individual Muslims."
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, during a Wednesday news conference: "This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil." The driver "defeated" safety measures that were in place to protect pedestrians and was "hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did."
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry wrote on X on January 1: "A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning. Please join Sharon and I in praying for all the victims and first responders on scene. I urge all near the scene to avoid the area."
Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics; Author of ISIS: A History, told Newsweek on Thursday: "There are limits to what the FBI and other security services could do to prevent terrorist attacks, like the terror attack in New Orleans. The lone wolf phenomenon is extremely difficult to preempt and prevent. It is almost impossible to get into the mind of a committed individual who is bent on killing randomly."
Trump, said in a Truth Social post on Thursday: "With the Biden 'Open Border's Policy' I said, many times during Rallies, and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe. That time has come, only worse than ever imagined. Joe Biden is the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER. What he and his group of Election Interfering 'thugs' have done to our Country will not soon be forgotten! MAGA."
What Happens Next
The FBI said during a press conference on Thursday that they have received around 400 tips related to the incident. At the press conference the agency urged anyone who was in the French Quarter on New Years Eve or early New Years day, as well as anyone who knows Jabbar, to contact the FBI.
The agency is asking anyone with information that might assist is asked to contact the FBI's New Orleans Bureau by calling (504) 816-3000 or by emailing tips@fbi.gov, or submitting photo and video footage online here.
The FBI emphasized during the press conference that it is still "very early" in the investigation and more details are to come.
Update 1/2/2025, 11:37 a.m. EST: This article has been updated with additional information from the FBI's Thursday press conference.
About the writer
Mandy Taheri is a Newsweek reporter based in Brooklyn. She joined Newsweek as a reporter in 2024. You can get ... Read more