In the years leading up to the tragic New Orleans terrorist attack, Democratic politicians and liberal commentators frequently emphasized the danger of White terrorism, often downplaying concerns about religious extremism. This focus, evident in their rhetoric and media coverage, prioritized the threat of White supremacy while seemingly minimizing the potential for attacks from groups like ISIS.
The New Year's Day attack, where Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a truck bearing an ISIS flag into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring over 30, brought this prior narrative into sharp relief. Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas native, committed this act of terror amidst a backdrop of statements from prominent figures emphasizing White supremacy as the nation's foremost threat.
President Biden, on multiple occasions, including a June 2021 statement and a May 2023 address at Howard University, identified White supremacy as the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland echoed this sentiment in congressional testimonies, citing the intelligence community's assessments. These pronouncements followed a report from the Director of National Intelligence highlighting racially motivated extremists as the most significant domestic terrorism threat.
Data from the Department of Homeland Security revealed 231 domestic terrorism incidents between 2010 and 2021, with approximately 35% categorized as racially or ethnically motivated and identified as the most lethal. However, the specific racial backgrounds of the perpetrators within this category were not detailed by the FBI or DHS. Anti-government or anti-authority extremism constituted the second largest category, resulting in 15 deaths during the same period.
A report from the New America think tank indicated that far-right extremists, encompassing anti-government, militia, White supremacist, and anti-abortion groups, were responsible for 134 deaths in over three dozen attacks. In contrast, individuals identified as "Jihadists" by the FBI caused 107 deaths in 14 attacks.
Political figures like New York Governor Kathy Hochul also emphasized the threat from White supremacists and right-wing extremists, warning of their attempts to instill fear. Media personalities such as MSNBC's Joy Reid discussed the perceived disparity in how domestic and foreign terrorism are addressed, suggesting that certain groups are used as surrogates for broader populations.
While ISIS, a globally active jihadist group, has seen a decline in recent years, the New Orleans attack served as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat of religiously motivated terrorism. The FBI stated that Jabbar was "inspired" by ISIS but found no evidence of direct involvement. Jabbar's brother revealed his conversion to Islam from Christianity, emphasizing that his actions were a product of radicalization and not representative of the Islamic faith.
