MAGA supporters on social media took aim at a Black FBI special agent for wearing a nose ring while providing an update on the Bourbon Street terror attack, shifting the focus to racist right-wing ballyhoo despite the tragedy claiming 15 lives.
Alethea Duncan, the federal agent in charge in New Orleans, spoke Wednesday at a press conference, where she described the investigation as “ongoing and rapidly evolving” hours after a rented Ford pickup barreled through a crowd at high speed, killing and maiming dozens as they celebrated the New Year.
Duncan stated that the FBI was investigating the attack as an act of terrorism, then recounted the awful facts of what happened, revealing that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas and an Army veteran, was later killed in a shootout with New Orleans police. Two officers were wounded in the exchange of gunfire.
The truck carried an Islamic State flag alongside other improvised explosives, while Jabbar was dressed in full military gear when his truck flew past a security checkpoint and slammed into throngs of unwitting pedestrians on Bourbon Street at 3:15 a.m.
Initially, 10 people were pronounced dead at the scene, while another five victims died later in the day.
Aside from the dead, another 35 people were left with serious injuries.
Duncan emphasized that the FBI believed someone helped Jabbar carry out the attack and that the Bureau was “aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” to get to the bottom of this theory. She then called on “the public’s help” to provide the FBI with more information about the suspect and any accomplices he may have had.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” she said.
Following the news conference, right-wing social media erupted with sharp criticisms of Duncan, totally disregarding her professionalism, with MAGA loyalists amplifying racism, lies, and disinformation and echoing talking points frequently used by Donald Trump and JD Vance on the campaign trail.
“DEI: Evidence that the FBI is chronically lowering its standards are evident everywhere,” user @amuse wrote on X, before misrepresenting what the agent actually said during the briefing. “Take Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan, who initially stated that the terror attack was not being considered a terrorist attack—she was wearing a prohibited nose ring. FBI agents should be rule followers—especially those in leadership roles. Alethea’s decision to flaunt FBI rules in our faces on national television is just another example of the decline of the agency,” the writer summed up.
The situation escalated further when President-elect Trump falsely claimed on social media that the attacker was an illegal immigrant, fueling further tensions and misinformation just weeks ahead of his inauguration.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump said on his platform, Truth Social. “The crime rate in our country is at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” he added falsely. “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.”
He added: “The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
Earlier in the day in New Orleans, as details about the suspect remained scarce, Agent Duncan addressed reporters in an initial impromptu briefing, announcing that the FBI would be taking the lead in the investigation. At that time, the FBI believed the attack was the work of a lone wolf, with Duncan relaying, “this is not a terrorist event. What it is right now is there are improvised explosive devices that were found, and we are working on confirming if it is a viable device or not.”
At the same time, Duncan urged the public to avoid the French Quarter “until we can figure out what is going on”—emphasizing the rapidly evolving nature of the situation as authorities worked to piece together the facts.
Early reports had also suggested the truck involved in the attack had been driven across the border from Mexico into the United States. However, this claim was later debunked as misinformation fueled by social media speculation.
Trump made concerns about the weakness of the U.S. border a central theme of his 2024 campaign, pledging to deport all undocumented immigrants on his first day in office.
And instead of acknowledging the fluidity of the situation, Trump supporters chose to politicize the FBI’s investigation, directing their attacks at Duncan’s nose ring—seemingly motivated by the fact that she is a Black woman in a high-level position within the U.S. Justice Department.
“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!?!” media personality Benny Johnson said on X alongside video of Duncan speaking to press. “Seriously. listen to this. We need Kash Patel NOW!” he said, referring to Trump’s nominee to take over the FBI.
“I didn’t even notice the ring. They’ll think of anything,” another social media user said.
Another X user, Hotep Jesus, summed up the controversy with a list comparing right-wing grievances on the matter, saying:
