Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill experienced hesitancy in hosting the Sugar Bowl on Thursday afternoon, as the city of New Orleans just underwent a major terrorist attack over New Year’s.
The Sugar Bowl, originally scheduled for New Year’s Day, was delayed to Thursday at 4 p.m. after a terrorist attack killed at least 15 people and injured at least another 30 during a New Year’s Eve celebration. Federal officials said Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen of Texas, plowed through revelers in a white pickup truck. In providing an update on the scene, Murrill stated that Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) added 100 National Guard to increase security but expressed great concern about hosting the football game so soon after the attack.
“I think that we certainly want to reassure people that we feel like they are safe in New Orleans. I just — I think this is a very serious event,” said Murrill on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “I would like to talk to the FBI this morning and to reach out. My priority this morning is to reach out to the Department of Justice and the FBI and make sure that they are given top priority to this investigation. The special agent in charge in New Orleans is out of the country. That’s the individual who has the most experience and knowledge about the city and experience with public officials in the city and in the state. So I want to make sure that they’re taking this seriously and that they have put all of their best resources towards this investigation and that they are tracking these people down.”
When pressed about her opinion on delaying the game and if she would if the decision was up to her, Murrill said she would have waited “at least” until Friday but contended officials secured the city and “it’s ok, I guess” if the game goes forward Thursday.
“I do feel like the city is secure, but we have 16 people who are dead,” Murrill said. “Their families are grieving, we have at least 10 more that are clinging to life in the hospital, and I think that there’s a certain degree of respect that we owe to the dead and to their families and the victims, and to acknowledge and recognize that this is an open investigation into a terrorist event.”
Murrill also said she has not received “a lot of information” from the FBI, which is in charge of the investigation into the attack. She also stressed that while she is not ready to say she is being “stonewalled” by the agency, her current priority is to contact them and ensure the FBI communicates with her while making sure “the top people” are working on this investigation.
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In addition to the New Orleans terrorist attack, a Cybertruck exploded outside of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. In a statement on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden and his “Open Border’s Policy” for the “Radical Islamic Terrorism” taking place in the country.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department announced Wednesday that there will be a “heightened security posture” across the city due to various events happening in January, but ensuring there is “no known threat to the District of Columbia.” One of the events taking place in Washington, D.C., this month is Trump’s inauguration, which is scheduled for Jan. 20.