Althea Duncan, the FBI Special Agent leading the agency’s investigation into the January 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans, wore a jacket emblazoned with the logo of the agency’s Critical Incident Response Group – Behavioral Analysis Unit (CRIG-BAU) during the same press conference when she denied the attack, which killed 14, was tied to terrorism.
“This is not a terrorist event, what is right now, is they’re improvised explosive devices that was found, and we are working on confirming if it is a viable device or not,” Duncan controversially said in a clip of the Wednesday press conference that accrued more than 10 million views on the social media platform X.
After Duncan (pictured above) said the attack was “not a terrorist event,” the FBI quickly issued a statement confirming it was being investigated as an act of terrorism, and authorities have since confirmed the suspect, Shasmud Din Jabbar, swore allegiance to ISIS in a series of videos posted to Facebook ahead of the attack.
Hold up.
An FBI Agent with a nose ring who can barely speak coherent English sentences told the media that a terrorist driving a truck with an ISIS flag killing 10 Americans is NOT a terrorist attack!?!
Seriously. listen to this
We need Kash Patel NOW!pic.twitter.com/v2sjeJ2bcH
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 1, 2025
The CRIG-BAU is the same FBI unit that authored the memo sent to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) in May 2023, shortly after lawsuits were filed to compel the release of the manifesto left by transgender Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale after the 28-year-old killed six at the Christian elementary school she once attended.
In their memo, the FBI’s CRIG-BAU “strongly” discouraged MNPD from releasing writings and other documents left by the killer, raising concerns about the public reaction and the destruction of certain tapes made by the Columbine High School shooters.
The memo claimed that the release of such documents “will contribute to further attacks,” allowing copycat killers to “immerse themselves in” the legacy tokens “for inspiration and tactics.”
CRIG-BAU also dismissed “the public’s need to understand what led to such tragic events,” asserting “legacy tokens seldom provide the answers or comfort sought by the public and surviving victims,” as killers often are not able to “provide a cogent or coherent” explanation. The memo warned this could allow the public to believe the “false narrative that the majority of attackers are mentally ill.”
It additionally warned that releasing legacy tokens will lead to the spread of misinformation.
“Public access to legacy tokens will also facilitate false narratives and inaccurate information,” the CRIG-BAU warned MNPD, claiming “self-professed ‘experts’ will proffer their perspectives on the motivations” solely for “personal gain.”
It warned, “Many of these pontificators will be inexperienced or untrained and therefore inaccurate in their assessment,” with their claims nonetheless readily accepted by “the segment of the population more vulnerable or open to conspiracy theories, which will undoubtedly abound.”
The Tennessee Star obtained the memo and other MNPD case documents in June 2024, when it also obtained Hale’s 2023 manifesto from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation. The Star ultimately released the manifesto in September 2024.
Despite the memo being published by The Star, the FBI has yet to acknowledge its existence, including in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The Star. The agency previously acknowledged it sends such documents to local law enforcement.
Star News Digital Media Inc., which owns and operates The Star, and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, are suing to secure the release of Hale’s writings from both MNPD and the FBI. The Star recently invited the Department of Justice and FBI to drop their opposition to the release, citing the forthcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
A spokesman for the FBI did not respond to questions posed by The Star on Friday, including when the CIRG-BAU assumed control over the New Orleans investigation, and whether this is the unit now examining the five videos Jabbar uploaded to Facebook prior to this attack, but told The Star, “The FBI is examining the videos as part of the ongoing investigation and we have no further comment.”
In response to a previous inquiry from The Star, which sought to ascertain whether the agency considers the videos left by Jabbar to be legacy tokens, the agency referred The Star to its public web page for updates about the terrorist attack. The web page does not reference legacy tokens.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Althea Duncan” by WWLTV.
From the New Orleans police chief to the FBI agent who initially said the attack wasn’t terrorism, this is what happens when you let DEI take over. A bunch of clowns running the show.