President-elect Donald Trump Incoming “border czar” Tom Homan has issued a warning about the state of U.S. national security following the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the explosion of a Cybertruck in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day.
The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an interview with American Report on Thursday that the United States is in immediate danger because the southern border remains a national security vulnerability.
“We're not out of the woods yet,” Homan said. “This country is in grave danger. We need to secure our borders. Despite what happened in the last two days in Las Vegas and New Orleans, this administration will not stop. They still We are releasing thousands of people every week… without doing anything” due diligence. ”
Who is Shamsud Din Jabar? What we know about the New Orleans New Year's terror suspect
Shamsud Din Jabbar is pictured in an undated photo released by the FBI after he was killed in a shootout with responding police officers during a pickup truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. (FBI)
“We have a record number of known fugitives. More than 2 million people have entered this country. We don't know who they are, where they came from, or why they came to this country,” he said. continued.
Homan said he looks forward to President-elect Donald Trump taking back “power” to “secure this border and protect our national security.”
His warning came after the suspects were identified as: Shamsud Din Jabbar At least 14 people were killed and more than 30 injured when ISIS flags were pierced by dozens of people during a New Year's parade on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. He died in a gunfight with police.
Mr. Jabbar is an American born in Texas and previously served in the U.S. military. The FBI said in a Facebook video before the attack that Jabbar said he had joined ISIS and submitted his will before the summer.
Suspect in Cybertruck that exploded at Trump Hotel identified as active-duty US soldier
Authorities are investigating potential military ties between Jabbar and the Las Vegas suspect, whom law enforcement identified to The Associated Press as Matthew Libersberger. He is an active-duty Special Forces operations sergeant in the U.S. Army on leave from Germany, where he served with the 10th Special Forces Group and most recently served as a Green Beret.
Libersberger is suspected of being the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel. las vegas On New Year's Day. Officials said the truck was loaded with containers of gasoline and camping fuel, as well as a large mortar shell used for fireworks.
Asked about the nature of the attacks, he said his “gut feeling'' is that both the New Year's attack in New Orleans and the Las Vegas explosion are connected, although the FBI and police have found no evidence linking both attacks at this stage. ” he said. investigation.
“It's a gut feeling. I've been doing this job for 35 years. I just think there are too many similarities,” Homan told Fox News anchor Sandra Smith. “There are too many coincidences. I think there will be something in the future – they will show that there is some connection… I could be wrong – it's just my intuition.”
Matthew Libersberger was renting a Tesla Cybertruck from Denver, Colorado, when it exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day. (Alcides Antunes/Reuters from left, Fox News from right)
Homan pointed to both men's military backgrounds and urged the incoming Trump administration to strengthen “insider threat analysis,” which he said has been put on the backburner by the Biden administration.
“There are two people who served in the military. [allegedly] committed these acts of terrorism. We need to dig deep into military and federal insider threats…'' he warned.
The FBI said Thursday that investigators believe the New Orleans terrorist attack suspect acted alone, despite previously considering a possible connection to the Tesla Cybertruck explosion.
Mr. Jabbar and Mr. Libersberger both served at Fort Liberty (formerly known as Fort Bragg) in North Carolina, but U.S. officials said there was no overlap in their duties there. They served on the same base, but at different times, and more than 50,000 U.S. military personnel are currently stationed at Fort Liberty.
President-elect Trump's “border czar” Tom Homan speaks to Fox News. (Fox News)
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“As you know, there's also an FBI investigation going on in Las Vegas. We're following up on all potential leads and haven't ruled out anything. But at this point, the raid here in New Orleans… “There is no definitive connection between the attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas,” FBI Deputy Director of Counterterrorism Christopher Reier told reporters Thursday.
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
