Ben Shapiro Says Islamic Terror Threat Cannot Be ‘Pretended Away’ After New Orleans Attack

Islamic terrorism is “a serious threat to the American public,” said Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro in response to the terror attack in New Orleans that killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens more on New Year’s Day.

The FBI identified 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar as the suspect who drove a white Ford pickup truck into a crowd of people celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. After the suspect was killed by responding officers, authorities discovered an ISIS flag in the pickup truck.

The FBI added in a statement, “Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s Special Agent Bomb Technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable and they will work to render those devices safe.” Investigators do not believe that Jabbar acted alone in the terror attack, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said in a press conference.

The suspected terrorist is reportedly an American citizen and Army veteran from Texas. The truck he drove to carry out his attack entered the U.S. through the southern border in November, Fox News reported. Shapiro said that it is still unknown if the terrorist was recruited or trained abroad. Jabbar, who appears to have espoused radical Islamic views, could have been connected to ISIS through the terrorist group’s vast web of online recruiting, according to Shapiro.

In a video responding to the tragedy, Shapiro warned that the U.S. can no longer ignore the immediate threat of “radical Islamism.”

“Islamic terrorism remains a serious threat to the American public,” he said. “Pretending that away by suggesting that the real threat in America is ‘Right-wing’ white supremacism …  [and] has nothing to do with radical Islam is, of course, wish casting.”

“And this is one of the big problems that Europe has had as well — the attempt to pretend away the problem of radical Islamism and its impact on the politics and the lives of the people who are living in Europe,” Shapiro added.

The Daily Wire editor emeritus said there should be “serious conversations about the nature of our immigration system, about who should get in, about who should not be allowed in.”

“That is not just going to be a question with regard to illegal immigration. It’s going to be a question with regard to legal immigration,” he continued. “Where are people coming from? What are their belief systems? How well do they want to assimilate into the United States? How much do they actually care about American values? How much do they hate those values? How vulnerable are they to recruitment by radical Islamist terror groups like ISIS? These are all open questions at this point.”

Shapiro added, “One thing is for sure: things are about to change in the United States in a very significant way in regard to how Americans view all of these issues because President Trump is coming into power. That is going to change how these issues are addressed.”

Updates and instant reaction on the New Orleans ISIS terrorist attacker: pic.twitter.com/lJykcCdbix

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 1, 2025